Change in Wind  Across the Waters
by Araseri
Summary: Sequel to Change in Wind. Naruto finally remembers who has been missing in his life and, with the help of Sasuke, goes to find her despite the odds against him. But reuniting becomes harder than he had ever expected.
1. Chapter 1

**I congratulate you if you manage read the first story. The story's not over though. The long awaited (Wat?) sequel is here. (After a week.) Enjoy!**

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Naruto would have noticed that he almost broken his front door to his apartment when he entered, but he was too relieved to be back home to care as much about his door.

"It's so great to be back home," Naruto said, throwing his pack down at the side of his door and kicking off his shoes as he entered his apartment. Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru trailed behind him throwing their own packs along with Naruto's, quickly making themselves at home as well.

"Seriously," Kiba said sourly, following Naruto and taking a seat at the table as Naruto had done. Akamaru strolled behind Kiba and took his usual spot under the table whenever Kiba visited. "That mission was definitely underrated, not that I am complaining or anything."

"Complaining, huh?" Shikamaru commented dully, pulling out a deck of cards from his pocket as took a seat at the table as well. Chouji took a seat next to him; all of them taking one side of the small table.

"Did I just say I wasn't complaining," Kiba said annoyed. He leaned his elbow watching Shikamaru shuffle and pass out the cards.

"Sounds like complaining to me," Chouji murmured amusedly, but his words still reached the ears of his friends. Kiba scoffed at his comment and Naruto snorted a laugh.

"What game are we even playing?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring Kiba's rant shuffling the cards again after randomly passing out cards to his friends.

"I wanna play Bull-" Naruto began to say.

"We should order take out," Kiba interrupted, quickly slapping his cards on the and running towards the phone by the door. "Not paying."

"Not paying," Shikamaru and Chouji said at the same time, both concentration more on their cards than the conversation. Naruto yelled standing up from his seat.

"I don't have enough money for everyone," Naruto said, searching in his pocket for his wallet. Kiba ignored his plea and was already hallway in ordering food. Shikamaru and Chouji simply hummed in acknowledgement, but said nothing to save him. "Some friends you guys are." Naruto sighed loudly and moved to looked around his kitchen for any loose cash he might have. When he didn't find any in the kitchen, he searched in his hall closet. During his search, he notice a box on the top shelf. He looked at it curiously, taking it down and shaking it slightly. He brought it back to the table just as Kiba finished his phone call sat down as well.

"Ah ha!" Naruto cheered excitedly, opening the box and pulling out an envelope from it. "I just found our dinner money." He looked inside it and was pleased with what he saw.

"What is this?" Kiba asked pulling the box closer to him and looking inside curiously. He pulled out a hand full of, what seemed to him and the rest of them, small linked chains.

"Ah," Naruto said, instantly recognizing the tiny objects. "Those are necklaces I found a long time ago. I forgot to cash those in." He looked at the envelope he held. "That's where I got this from."

"You can get money from this junk?" Kiba asked skeptically dumping the jewelry back in the box. Naruto shrugged, not understanding the value but didn't complain. Money was money and he always needed money.

"Apparently - anyway, what are we going to play?" Naruto asked excitedly, sitting down in his spot again and picking up his cards.

"Let's play poker," Chouji suggested. "We can use what's in this box as counters."

"Sounds good to me," Shikamaru agreed, already fishing inside the box and grabbing a hand full of items. "I don't feel like shuffling again so just put two cards in the discard pile." Everyone around him mimicked his actions, grabbing their own hand full of random, worn-out jewelry.

"Ha ha!" Naruto laughed, glancing at his friends pile with his own. "I'm the riches out of all ya-"

"Can it. We're starting the game already," Kiba said, holding his cards to his face. In less than a second, the whole gang went silent. "I start with this rusted-looking ring.

"I'll call it by a small chain," Shikamaru said, dumping a random object in the middle. Naruto copied him by throwing a small chain of his own. Naruto was amused at their substitute counters, and began to laugh.

"I guess I'll throw in this locket thing," Chouji said, carefully placing a heart-shaped necklace in the middle of the pile. Naruto took a few quick glances at the pile, each time the glances became longer and his laughter died down bit by bit, until he was staring intrigued at the small necklace.

"That locket looks familiar," Naruto mumbled, loud enough for the rest of his friends to take notice.

"Well, it is yours," Shikamaru stated, going back to his cards. They continued the game by each of them discarding and drawing cards into their hands. Naruto did so as well, but he kept his eyes glued to the small locket. Why did that piece of jewelry catch his eye all of a sudden? He shook his head and went back to concentrating to the game. When the time came, they all showed their cards.

"Suckers," Kiba yelled in triumph. He reached out and dragged the pile towards him, Naruto watching his every move. None of the other things made him wonder, why did this one? The game continued on, slowly growing more serious with each passing minute. During their match, they had either forgotten that they were gambling trinkets or that they each enjoyed the feeling of winning and the suspense before the winner's reveal.

Naruto had enjoyed this part of the game the most. Every now and then, he would gaze over at Kiba's pile and stare at the locket. Every time he would glance over, he felt the bottom of his jump and his heart swell up. He tried not to look at it, but something itching in the back of his head. Where did he get that necklace? Where he found the rest of them, right? No, it belonged to someone. That's it what it was! He met someone and they must have left it in his apartment. It wasn't given to him, he knew that. He would have remembered something unique as that. Why was he bother so much about this?

He was pulled back out of his thoughts as a loud knock came upon his door and Naruto almost fell out of his chair.

"Food's here," Kiba said, nudging Naruto in the elbow. Shikamaru grabbed the envelope left at the edge of table and went for the door instead, noticing Naruto wasn't exactly all there, but he said nothing about it. Naruto didn't notice what was happening till the food was dropped in between him and his cards.

"Are you even there anymore?" Shikamaru asked, sitting down back in his place once the food was passed around. Naruto didn't noticed his friends looking at him strangely.

"Do any of you know or remember anyone that might have visit me?" Naruto asked solemnly, eyeing the necklace in Kiba's pile again. His friends looked among themselves confused as they began eating their dinner.

"We visit you," Kiba answered dumbly.

"Other than you guys," Naruto corrected. "Someone else."

"Uh, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Lee," Shikamaru began say, obviously listing people Naruto definitely knew.

"How about Sasuke?" Chouji asked next. Naruto shook his head at all of their answers, lazily banging his head against the table.

"Someone else, someone I can't remember," Naruto murmured with great frustration. He was quickly becoming over whelmed with a deep, cutting feeling.

"Are you trying to remember someone?" Kiba asked curiously, passing a few strips to his buddy under the table. Naruto sat back up in his chair and reach to snatch the locket out of Kiba's pile before he could protest.

"This belonged to someone," He said loudly, grasping the necklace from its chain and letting the heart locket swing like a pendulum from his fist. "Who does this belong to?"

"Well, we don't know," Kiba said defensively, eating away at his dinner. He and his other friends began to become uneasy with Naruto's sudden change in attitude.

"Why can't I remember? I'm sure- I know who this belongs to," Naruto went on, becoming extremely jittery. He felt the rise of his stomach and the swelling of his lungs and heart come again. More noticeable to his companion, his breath began to quicken and appeared more distressed by the second. Why couldn't he remember who this simple, little locket belonged too?

"I wouldn't think about it that much," Shikamaru said after swallowing a mouthful of food. "If you don't remember then you probably didn't care that much."

"I do care about-" Naruto snapped angrily, abruptly rising from his chair that it had fallen backwards. The outburst was so sudden, even he didn't know what he was doing. His friends froze. Shikamaru taken aback, Kiba held his breath, and Chouji was hallway from eating another bite.

"About who?" Shikamaru had finally asked after a long dead silence, with only Naruto's heavy breathing filling the gaps of sound. Another knock on the front door filled the silence. It was an awkward moment as Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba looked at each sure uneasily. Naruto was lost in his thought, only staring at the top of the table. He didn't seem to understand that he had a new visitor. The problem quickly solved itself as the visitor let himself in.

Sasuke didn't know what to expect when he opened the door of Naruto's apartment open. He had just expected to give a simple message in a quick visit. When he did enter, he was greeted very uneasily by the stares of Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji. His gaze then settled on Naruto who still had his head hanging low, who seemed to be lost in his own world.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sasuke finally said, becoming slightly uncomfortable in the awkwardness.

"Just Naruto's something-breakdown," Kiba answered stiffly. "He says he's trying to remember someone." Naruto suddenly noticed Sasuke in the room. He suddenly felt a wave of anger and his blood began to boil.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said angrily. "You had something to do with. I just know it." Naruto lunged at Sasuke and, in a second, Naruto had Sasuke pinned up against his wall by the collar of his shirt by both of his hands. Kiba and Chouji immediately stepped back as Naruto charged at Sasuke. Shikamaru was the only able to reach Naruto and grab and hold Naruto by his wrist while locking an around his chest, but he wasn't fast enough to stop his firm hold on Sasuke.

"Naruto, calm down," Shikamaru ordered, trying at least budge Naruto's hand, but his hold has too strong. "Just because you can't remember some guy, doesn't mean you can blame Sasuke. He just walked in and hasn't even done anything yet."

"You had something to do with this. I know it," Naruto snarled, pushing Sasuke harder to the wall. Sasuke was speechless for the most part, till a sudden realization came over his face. He noticed the small locket still grasped in Naruto's fist as Naruto was still pinning him to the wall.

"I see," Sasuke finally said, grabbing the necklace and tugged it free from Naruto's grasp. He let it hang from in between his fingers. Naruto flashed a glace towards the object. "This must have been hers."

"Who Sasuke?," Naruto pleaded desperately.

"I can't tell you." Naruto suddenly yelled in frustration and banged Sasuke against the wall.

"So you do know," Naruto accused angrily, getting in Sasuke's face. "Why can't you tell me?"

"Naruto, stop it," Shikamaru grunted, trying to pull Naruto off of Sasuke but greatly failing.

"Because if you don't remember on your own, it won't have any meaning," Sasuke simply said. Naruto managed to calm down greatly, releasing Sasuke from his hold, even though he felt that he was going to explode. Sasuke adjusted his shirt before handing back the locket to Naruto.

"Would you mind explaining?" Shikamaru asked, releasing Naruto right after Sasuke had been let free.

"It depends," Sasuke said, ignoring Naruto for a moment and addressing the three stragglers. "Are you up to getting involved?" Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba took glances at each other, all with uneasy and unsure stares and gestures.

"Well, we're already here," Shikamaru said stately, stepping back to lean against the table.

"And we _have_ to know what Naruto's trying to remember," Kiba said sitting back down in his chair, almost in a bored tone, but it was obviously clear he was just as curious.

"We might even be able to help," Chouji said hopefully, sitting back down again. Sasuke smirked and rolled his eyes at the last comment. He found it ironic.

"You knew as well," Sasuke said seriously, his grin disappearing. "You all also had forgotten the person Naruto is trying to remember."

"What?" Naruto asked greatly surprised. It was also the question of his friends mind but they only stared speechless.

"Naruto, who gave this to you?" Sasuke said quickly, grabbing Naruto's hand and opening it up so Naruto could see the locket.

"That's what I've been trying to remember," Naruto replied angrily.

"Then start trying to remember," Sasuke snapped back. "Close your eyes." Naruto didn't hesitate and obeyed immediately. He had to trust Sasuke. "The person who gave you this locket was the you're most important friend you ever had."

"Even more than you," Naruto asked curiously, peeking with one eye.

"Yes, even more than me," Sasuke answered. "Now shut up and concentrate." Naruto closed his eyes again. "You meet even before you moved into the village, you found her injured and took her in. She was different from you and that's why you were attracted to her."

"She?" Naruto asked, though it sounded more as a statement than anything. He shut his eyes tighter, the sinking feeling rising from the pit of his stomach again. The strange wording sounded very familiar.

"You spent nearly every day with her. From the moment you woke up till the time you went to sleep, she was at your side, and you didn't want to spend a second without her. You went out of your way to protect her, to make her as happy as she made you. Remember Naruto, who was with you?"

The swelling in Naruto's chest grew larger with each word Sasuke said, he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to breathe. Like someone opening the blinds to a dark room and light began to fill, Naruto slowly began to remember. There had been someone with him, even before he had entered the village. All his memories of being alone suddenly filled with a vague image of someone beside him. Someone small, petite, kind, caring...she...she was the most kindest person he had ever met and treasured her like family-more than just family. She had made his days full and he wanted to stay like that forever.

His head quickly began to hurt more as the images-memories began to come back to him. He desperately began to fight back the pain, using everything he had to concentrate on the rising images.

"I remember someone. I-She..." Naruto stuttered, clutching the locket hi his hand, hard enough to have a solid hold, but delicate enough as to not crush it. Like the missing pieces to a puzzle, he began to put the piece of the picture in his mind; a small frame, long dark hair, and white - no - lilac-tinted eyes. "She was a Hyuga."

"What was her name, Naruto? Her full name." Sasuke said forcefully. He grabbed Naruto's shoulder, as if to steady him from falling over.

"Her name was...?" Naruto repeated growing more frustrated. He clutched the locket tighter and clenched his teeth. A round, friendly face came to his mind, a warm smile accompanying it. He could suddenly see her. Her full person, just as if she was standing in front of him. She stared at him, as she opened her mouth and said, like the chime of bells,

"_Naruto..._"

"Hinata..."

The words were barely audible, but they came out nonetheless from his own mouth. Like a flick of a light switch, everything he had forgotten came back to him. From the first moment they shared and the days that came after. He had remembered all the times spend together, and all the feeling he had felt came rushing back to him. He fell to his knees, wrapping one arm around his stomach and a hand covering his gaping mouth. Tears fells on the sides of his face as he stared at his floor petrified.

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**Sorry to cut this short. It's not as long as I would want it but it just wrote out that way. See you next time. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter. I thank you for your patience. And as a reminder, there is a reason that this is rated T.**

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"Oh god Hinata. How could I forget you?" Naruto cried, burying his face into his hands.

"Shit, Naruto, what's the matter with you?" Kiba nearly yelled, standing over Naruto. Shikamaru was kneeling beside Naruto with a hand on his back, keeping him steady. Chouji was up, standing awkwardly yet cautiously behind his friends. Sasuke, however, was across the room in deep thought. Naruto was still kneeling on the floor of his apartment, lost in his though and oblivious to the chaos that erupted around him.

"Sasuke, what's going on?" Shikamaru angrily asked, standing up and leaving Naruto the mumble quietly to himself.

"Hinata," Sasuke simply said, unaffected by the sudden outburst. "Do you remember that name, Shikamaru?" He was looking outside the window at the disappearing sun. The orange light lit the darken room with a warm hue.

"No, doesn't ring a bell," Shikamaru replied annoyed.

"That's probably because you weren't as close," Sasuke said, turning away from the window to face Shikamaru. He looked over at Kiba and Chouji over Shikamaru's shoulder. Chouji looked just as confused as Shikamaru, but Kiba seemed to have some effect when Sasuke asked his question.

"Now that I think about it, I have heard that name before," Kiba said standing up. The next second, he snapped his fingers in realization. "It was the name of that guy from those rumors from a long time ago. Am I right?" Though it wasn't the answer that Sasuke was looking for, he had to give Kiba credit for at least recognizing the name, but Kiba didn't seem to truly remember Hinata . Sasuke ignored the bickering trio and went straight for Naruto who had calmed down greatly, but was still in deep thought. He gave Naruto a quick poke on the top of his head.

Naruto was instantly knocked out of his own world at the simple touch and stood up quickly. He had remembered everything from the moment he had been betrayed by Jiraya and that other woman and that was all he had been thinking about. He had also remember right before the conversation right before his meeting; he was talking to Sasuke and he was going to apologize to Hinata for the way he was acting. He remembered he never got the chance.

"Sasuke, I have to go find her," Naruto immediately said when he was on his feet. A new determination in his eyes, his hand still holding the locket in his hand. "And I'll..." he paused, the moment of being in front of the Hokage's in his head; seemingly happy and understanding, but a complete lie. It infuriated him. "I'll make that old man pay for what he did to me. Hokage or not." Naruto quickly turned, heading straight for the door. Sasuke grabbed him by the back of his collar and stopped him before he could take a step.

"That's not going to work," Sasuke said, holding Naruto steady. "If you confront the Hokage himself, the same thing's going to happen. your best shot for reuniting with Hinata is to go straight to her."

"Right," Naruto quickly agreed, slipping away from Sasuke's grasp and headed out the door, slamming it on his way out. The sudden sound created awareness of Naruto's other guess, who were interrupted in their conversation of the origin of Hinata's name and figments of an actual person, that they noticed that their host was gone.

"Did he just leave?" Kiba plainly asked.

"Wait for it," Sasuke dully replied. Not a few seconds later the door opened again and Naruto came walking back into his apartment with an utterly dumbfounded expression.

"Sasuke, do you know where Hinata is?" Naruto asked, with a noticeable hint of desperateness.

"I have been doing research on my spare time," Sasuke replied nonchalantly, noticing he had become the center of attention, but paid no mind anyway. "There's a boat that leaves for the other side of the sea a day out of Konoha. There's no doubt that's where she will be."

"Hold on a minute," Shikamaru intervened, holding up a hand. "Are you talking about the ship that carries infants?"

"The exact one I am talking about," Sasuke answered.

"Let me get this straight," Shikamaru began, holding a hand to his head, the well-known position for an upcoming headache. "This is only a guess but you are planning, leave the village to stow-away on the ship just to find a person who doesn't even exist."

"She does exist," Naruto nearly yelled at him. "You just don't remember her because you never really cared about anything."

"And we aren't looking just for one person," Sasuke quickly interrupted before Naruto could go on a rampage. "We're going to look for people. A village." After those words left Sasuke's mouth, the trio of friends became utterly confused again, but Naruto on the other hand, understood completely.

"That's right," Naruto said excitedly, connecting the pieces in his head. "Hinata wanted to show me her village. She must be back in her own village."

"That's ridiculous," Shikamaru said, snapping back into the conversation. "There can't be a second village that no one knew about. Do you realize what your even saying?"

"Do you want proof?" Sasuke asked. "We'll show you proof after we get back."

"I'm not going," Shikamaru quickly said, defensively.

"You weren't. Only Naruto, Kiba and I are going," Sasuke said casually.

"I'm going," Kiba said completely caught off guard. "I thought it was only you and Naruto. Why am I going?"

"Tracking of course," Sasuke said plainly. "It's not like you have anything better to do." Kiba mumbled the same words to himself, like a joke. "There's actually something I need for you to do, Shikamaru." Shikamaru stared curious yet an amused as Sasuke continued. "I know you can arrange missions. You need to arrange a fake mission this Saturday for the three of us."

"This Saturday?" Naruto questioned.

"That's the ships next departure. We'll catch a ride then."

"Sasuke, I can't let you go through with this nonsense. I won't help you," Shikamaru said firmly. Sasuke held in a chuckle, his eyes suddenly turning a dark red.

"Then I'll help myself."

Naruto was excited to finally see Sasuke's plan being put into action. The week was longer than he wanted to but the day was here. He was eagerly following Sasuke through the brush towards their destination. Sasuke was the in the lead of the group while as Naruto was in the middle. Their third wheel, Kiba, was in somewhat in a state of shock in the rear, riding on Akamaru's back. It was most likely a good thing that Akamaru was carrying him because Kiba looked like he could even know which was north if asked.

"I can believe you actually used your sharingan on Shikamaru," Kiba said astonished, as they zipped through the tree line, greatly distressed. "You even use it on Chouji and he wasn't even doing anything."

"I used it on Chouji as a precaution," Sasuke answered casually. He was obviously not affected by his course of actions. "Besides they won't remember anything till we've come back."

"When will we come back?" Naruto questioned curiously. Sasuke was quiet for a moment, in a dazed thought, before answering.

"The ship comes to dock every two weeks," Sasuke began explaining. "So I commanded Shikamaru to give us two weeks. That will be our deadline till they would notice our absents. And that's only if we come back."

"We might not come back?" Kiba asked taken aback, now curious as well. He was slowly slipping out of his dazed state.

"I mean, we might not need to come back," Sasuke corrected. Naruto and Kiba glanced at his strangely.

"What do you mean?" They both asked simultaneously.

"In due time," Sasuke simple said, still looking suspiciously at Kiba. "I actually curious Kiba. You are practically walking in the dark. Why aren't you putting up a fight?" Kiba started to look more comfortable and confident in his present situation.

"Well, I don't want to end up like Shikamaru and Chouji. If I do something, I want to remember it. So in a way, you're threatening me. If we get caught, I'll can put the blame on you."

"I'll take full responsibility," Sasuke added quickly. That statement put Kiba back into his own self again.

"And like you said," Kiba said. Casually. "It's not like I have anything better to do. I'm also curious, why are you doing all this? I know Naruto wants to find Hinata, but you actually never said your reason." Sasuke looked ahead, seeming to be in slight pain.

"There's someone that I want to meet," Sasuke answered, almost longingly. He caught the glance of Naruto suspiciously glaring at him. "Someone that's not Hinata."

"Who then?" Naruto asked, still staring suspiciously.

"I don't know yet," Sasuke answered truthfully. "But I'll know when I see her." The afternoon quickly turned to night when the trio arrived at their destination. Just a few miles away, Kiba and Akamaru gave the signal that they were nearing the seashore. They slowed their pace as the sight of the dark blue sea came into view through the gaps of the trees. Their only light now was the shine of the half moon replacing the sun in the sky.

Sasuke guided them till they were all hiding behind a shrub on the ground, just at the start of the sandy dunes. Just a bit away was a regular sized ship, at the end of the long dock, ready to sail the waters. Lanterns lined the wooden dock, guiding one to the ramp up into the ship.

"Is that it?" Naruto asked quietly, noticing that they weren't alone. Two Konoha Shinobi were station at the entrance of the dock and two were lounging around at the entrance of the ramp. There was little movement seem on the ship itself. From what they can see. They knew they were dealing with a small group.

"That's it," Sasuke confirmed, studying the situation placed before them. A call from inside the ship signaled the others outside the boat that they were almost prepared to load off.

"Come on, we have to get on while no one is looking," Naruto said quietly, taking the lead.

"Naruto wait," Sasuke tried to say, but Naruto was already halfway across the shore. As Naruto came closer to the dock, he could clearly notice that the four stationed outside of the ship weren't exactly on top guard, which made his job that much easier. He crossed over from the sand and began walking on the waters, swiftly but silently slipping under the dock unnoticed. He was surprised, when he turned around, to see Sasuke and Kiba still a ways behind. He waited under the dock till they were under the dock as well.

"What took you so long?" He asked innocently. Sasuke gave him a angry scowl. Naruto simply grinned back smugly. "Jealous?"

"Are you guys coming or what?" Kiba said, sneaking off ahead. Akamaru was already completely gone and out of sight as the animal jumped on the dock, unseen and his shadow on the waters from the moonlight could only be seen as it walked up the ramp. Kiba was also gone the next second, jumping himself from to the dock, then up the ramp, all without causing any alarm. Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other silently before following Kiba's lead. Sasuke climbed first without causing any alarm as well. Naruto soon followed. He found that the dock was completely empty when he had jumped on. He looked around curiously, wondering where the crew was but didn't give himself the pleasure to think. He quickly, like the others crouched down to climb the ramp.

He gave a sigh of relief when he had joined his companions, hiding behind a tower of boxes. The next second later, someone could be heard yelling for departure.

"Just in time," Naruto said, giving his friends a thumbs up, suddenly relaxing.

"That's great," Kiba said tiredly, with a hint of sarcasm. "How long is this ride?"

"Hopefully, not that long," Sasuke said, going back to crouch position. "We still have to find a secure place." He carefully peeked behind the boxes, planning their next step. He spotted a stairwell across the bow leading downwards. "Stay here and be alert." Naruto watched as Sasuke crossed the way, stopping every few places till the darkness almost shadowed him from his view. He could. Barely see Sasuke as he finally made it to the other side safely and walking down the stairwell halfway till only his head could be seen. He gave the signal for a clear coast. Naruto and Kiba followed his every step, checking every which way till the reach Sasuke.

"That was easy," Kiba said surprised, looking behind him as he descended into the stairwell, as if they were going to get caught at the last leg.

"Let's hope that it stays that way," Sasuke commented, opening a door at the bottom. They entered a hallway with only a few light, up above every door in the corridor. Sasuke lead the way again, passing every door till he stopped at one that read 'storage' and opened it. It was a usual storage room, stacked full of boxes when he turned on the light. The perfect place to hide. "We stay here for the night." Sasuke moved to the back of the room and planted himself against one of the larger boxes.

"Or how every many nights we have to stay," Kiba commented, following and sitting down in the same general area. Akamaru made himself comfortable next to him. Naruto on the other hand was busy with the boxes itself.

"Hey, check this out," Naruto said interested, opening one of the boxes. He pulled out a small jar and opened it. "Baby food." Kiba chuckled amusedly as Sasuke looked like he was trying to sleep, hanging his head low with his arms folded across his chest. Akamaru took his lead and settled down to rest as well.

"You aren't seriously going to eat that," Kiba asked, getting back up to looking into the box himself. He watched as Naruto scooped a finger into the jar and placed its contents in his mouth.

"It's just like applesauce," Naruto mumbled, his finger still in his mouth. He closed the jar and placed it outside the box and closing the box itself. "Let's see what else we have in here."

"I don't think you should be going through those boxes," Kiba warned, but made no real effort to stop him. He then murmured to himself, "Here's the stuff. The infants must be born somewhere else."

"It's fine. I'll put everything back the way it was," Naruto said not catching the second part. \e was already opening up another box, carefully putting the lid to the side. He laughed as he pulled out a tiny pink shirt. "There are clothes in this one." Kiba became instantly interested in it.

"Why is it pink?" He asked, looking into the box he had pulled it out from. There were both blue and pink clothes as he looked inside. "I though they only dressed babies in blue."

"Then this is what the baby girls must wear," Naruto said, holding the pink shirt up to his own body. Kiba stared amazed at the small articles of clothing. Naruto didn't miss a beat on Kiba's behavior. "You really didn't believe us did you." Naruto wasn't and didn't sound the least bit angry. "Believe us now?"

"There's not enough evidence," Kiba said stubbornly. "I only followed knowing you and Sasuke would just lead me to a dead end.

"Then we can find some evidence for you," Naruto said, placing the lid back on the box and randomly picking another box to open. It took no time for him to open another box and revealing its contents. Naruto paused gazing inside curious. "This one is filled with books? Of what?" He picked one up and read it's blue cover.

"I remember those," Kiba said, recognizing the small hand book. Naruto handed him the book as he went back fishing in the box for another one. Kiba opened the book and began flipping through the pages. "These were passed out a long time ago. They're like instruction manuals for new dads. They are instruction manuals. It was suppose to be helpful but they weren't any good. My dad tried to raise me on this. Didn't really worked out as he planned."

"It looks like the other side got one of those manuals as well," Naruto said with a grin on his face. He held up the exact book but the cover was now pink and full of flowers. He immediately opened the book and began flipping through the pages. "They sure do like pretty things. Ooh, they have pictures. Why don't we get pictures?"

"This I have to see," Kiba said, closing his own book and moved to see over Naruto's shoulder. Both boys suddenly grew quiet as they both stared at one particular picture on the page.

"Kiba," Naruto whispered, his eyes not leaving the page.

"Yeah," Kiba answered in the same volume.

"What am I looking at?" Naruto asked, almost shamefully.

"It says it's called breast feeding."

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**It's rated T for a reason. Be prepared for the next one sometime next week...probably.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I apologize for the few mistakes I made for before and in advance. I also want to apologize for the weirdness in the beginning of this chapter. Other than that Enjoy! **

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Naruto had woken up back in his own bed, with the light from the window shining directly in his eye. He tried to sit up, but he seemed to be overwhelmed from the lingering feeling of tiredness. He had difficulty keeping his eyelids open and couldn't help but wonder why everything was suddenly so big in his apartment. He couldn't even get out of his own covers. A figure stepped into the light, creating a silhouette around their head, approaching his ever so slowly. Emerging from the burliness, a soft, familiar face closed in on him.

"Good morning, Naruto," Hinata whispered, her voice sounding as sweet as honey. She reached out and gently stroked his hair. "How was your sleep?"

"Hinata!" Naruto rejoiced, reaching out to touch her, but instead of his own voice, the crying of a baby came out. He also saw that his hands were not his own. They didn't belong to him. They belonged to a baby's as well. He became distracted as Hinata began to giggle.

"You must be hungry," She said noticeably. Naruto watched intently as Hinata grabbing him from under his arms and lifted him up in the air before cradling him in her arms. Naruto immediately felt comfort in Hinata's arms as she began swinging him gently, humming a soft tune. Naruto wouldn't mind if he had stayed like that forever. Then Hinata sat down, placing Naruto lying down on her lap. He looked up at her as she slowly began to slowly unzip her jacket. Naruto watched mesmerized as he saw skin training from her bare neck to her hip, the inside of her breast barely visibly. Hinata slowly grabbed the zipper if her jacket, and grin devilishly down at him.

"Hope you're ready for breakfast?" She said sarcastically, her voice dropping down many octaves. Naruto instantly recognized that voice, and it didn't belong to Hinata. He felt a gooey substance fall on his face and fast blow struck him in the gut. He was immediately thrown out of his dream work, and back into reality. The first thing he saw was Akamaru on top of him, about to licking the side of his face. Kiba was standing next to his head, hovering over him, holding an empty jar of what seemed to be baby food.

"What's the big idea?" Naruto yelled, feeling something slide off the side of his mouth. He wiped some with his hand and let out a whine of disgust. Baby food.

"It's time to get going," Kiba said, apparently amused as he stared down at Naruto. "Besides, you started moaning and it was beginning to kind of freak me out." He placed the empty jar on one of the boxes and began making his way out of the room. Akamaru followed, pouncing off of Naruto. Naruto groggily regained his posture, sitting up and licking his fingers after wiping away the rest of the baby food off his face. As he sat up he felt something slide off his chest and on to his lap. He looked down and saw a familiar, pink covered book. He immediately remember the dream and yelped in horror, quickly throwing the book behind a stack of boxes. He prayed that he never had that dream again.

He sat there for a moment, letting the rays of sun hit his face from a nearby window and the boat beneath him move back and forth ever so slightly. It still looked to be close to sunrise; the day barely starting. He noticed that Kiba had left him alone and lethargically picked himself up to trail behind.

"Kiba. Sasuke?" He whispered curiously, finding any trace of anyone for that matter. He quietly slipped through the door, closing it softly behind him and made his way back towards the stairwell. He kept checking his back, hoping he wouldn't get caught by anyone. He slowly opened the door to the stairwell, seeing Kiba stand on the top step casually.

"Finally you get here," he said, glancing at Naruto over his shoulder before walking away from view.

"Kiba, what are you doing?" Naruto whispered panicky, climbing low on the steps. "We're supposed to be hidden." He suddenly stopped on the top, suddenly astonished by the view. An enormous cliff towered over his head, covered in precarious jagged rocks that seemed to touch the sky. Kiba walked back in his sight, standing over him. From Naruto's view, the cliff was still taller.

"You don't have to hide anymore. There's no one here," Kiba said nonchalantly. "Didn't I tell you that?"

"No," Naruto replied almost angrily, standing up. He looked around the empty deck with no sigh of anyone. "Where is everyone? Where's Sasuke?" Kiba pointed to the side of the boat. Naruto quickly rushed to the rail. The boat was docked beside a pier leading straight to a cave at the bottom of the cliff. Naruto could spot Sasuke at the entrance of the cave, looking into the darkness.

"Sasuke said we've actually been alone for a while," Kiba said, joining beside him. "We were actually waiting for you to wake up."

"You should have woken me up sooner," Naruto yelled annoyed. He quickly jumped off from the railing and onto the dock. He stumble a bit on the rotting wood, but had no trouble jumping into a jog towards the cave entrance. Kiba and Akamaru followed him close behind. Sasuke turned around at the sound of their approaching footsteps.

"I see that your finally awake," Sasuke said, as Naruto and Kiba slowed to a stop beside him.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, trying to peer into the darkness as well. There was a small flickering light at the end. "Is this the way we're going?"

"Most likely," Sasuke said and began walking inside the cave. Kiba and Naruto followed close behind. As they walked, the wooden walkway quickly turned into a slippery cave floor and the light Naruto has see approach leading them into a walkway into the cave. A trail of light guided them through till they approached a fork in the trail, both having a lighten trail and both going on an increasing incline.

"Don't look at me," Kiba said, as Sasuke and Naruto glance at him. "I can't pick up sent in all this moist." Akamaru whined in agreement.

"This is where we split up," Sasuke quickly concluded, already heading down the right path. "Later." The next moment, he disappeared in the darkness of the path and they could only hear the soft echoing of his footsteps fading away. Kiba and Naruto looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, taking the left path.

"Why would there be two paths?" Kiba thought out loud. The question had Naruto flash into a memory, the story of the virus and the genders.

"One must be for the females and the other for the males," Naruto quickly concluded confidently. "They must still believe in the virus?"

"Virus? What virus?" Kiba almost yelled, stopping in his tracks. "You never said anything about a virus. "

"There's no virus," Naruto quickly whispered, before Kiba completely exploded. "It doesn't exist anymore. Me and Hinata were living proof. Besides, you were are Hinata a lot too. You would have died a long time ago if it existed."

"I could have died," Kiba whispered panicky, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"You could have if it exist, but it doesn't. I promise," Naruto attempted to hush.

"Does Sasuke know about this?" Kiba asked. Naruto was ready to answer but stopped short. He actually didn't know if Sasuke knew about the reason the two genders were separated. He wondered if he actually cared. He was distracted when Kiba began frantically looking around. "Akamaru?" A loud, ear-piercing squeal echoed against the cave walls and shook them frightened. Kiba quickly broke out in a run towards the yell.

"Kiba wait," Naruto said, quickly running behind him. It was after a few turns that Naruto actually ran into Kiba and almost lost his footing. "What the big deal-" Kiba quickly covered his mouth and nodded his head around the corner. Naruto glared at him before getting low and peeking around the cave wall. He drew back quickly at the sight. Girls. He picked out again, this time more slowly.

There was what looked to be an clearing in the cave where small tents were placed and rocks places and makeshift benches. Two girls, one that looked around their age and one that was definitely older. They were sitting around a lantern, the younger one excitedly petting Akamaru on his head and scratching him around his neck, the older looking not so enthusiastic as she sat with her chin resting on her hand and about ready to fall asleep.

"You're a good boy, aren't you? Yes you are," the younger said, giving the big dog a hug. She giggled as she rubbed her cheek against his fur. "You gave me a fright, yes you did." Naruto could feel Kiba peeking around the wall above him. He couldn't help but think that since Kiba didn't remember Hinata, this was his first time seeing a female. "Where do you think it came from?"

"Has to belong to that Inuzuka woman," the older said after a big yawn. "She always has dogs roaming around. I've actually never seen this one before. Oi, can you talk?" Akamaru gave a short but loud bark. "Guess not. Do me a favor and take it outside? No offense, but I can't stand the smell of wet dog." She got up and made her way back into her tent, the figure of her flopping down on the floor.

"Don't mind her," the one with Akamaru whispered. "Just between you and me. I love that all natural scent." She quickly got on her feet and beckoned Akamaru towards her as she walked down the path that Naruto and Kiba would have continued on. Akamaru followed as they headed up the path and into another room in the cave. Naruto fell a small push on his back and he took it as a signal to follow. Carefully, they quietly followed the girl along the path, always keeping one room behind, yet close enough to hear where her footsteps echoing. They met more forks along the path, but they noticed that they always took the left path so it was more easier to follow. It wasn't till the last fork in the path that they found a slight dilemma. Naruto stop short when he walked into the next room, the familiar sunlight broke through the darkness, and the back lower half of the girl could only be seen as she was standing on a ladder than lead to the surface.

"Go on, go back where you came from," She yelled at Akamaru playfully. Naruto pushed Kiba back as she began covering the hole and walking back down the ladder. Naruto quickly yet quietly made his way back down the path, grabbing Kiba by the sleeve and dragging him back down the path again. He needed to find a hiding spot, and fast. Instead of looking for his surrounding, he ran back to the first fork of the trail. Kiba quickly following behind, almost instantly figuring out their problem. He did a quick turn as he past the fork and ran in the other pathway. Kiba joined Naruto hiding against the wall of the other pathway. Now, they just had to hope that the girl wouldn't look behind as she past. They waited in anticipating as her footsteps quickly approached, her shadow slowly forming almost in front of them as they hid in the darkness of the path.

Naruto suddenly felt a cold hand on his shoulder and jumped forward in fright. Before he could scream, a hand covered his mouth. He looked behind him, seeing Sasuke's face inches away from him. He had a finger over his mouth, keeping his hand over Naruto's mouth. Naruto was about to rip Sasuke's away and yell at him, but another high pitch yell echoed in the cave. He turned and stared in shock as Kiba was now standing before the girl, who had retreated to the opposite wall.

"Oops," Naruto mumbled underneath Sasuke's hand.

"I am so sorry," Kiba immediately said to her, raising his hands in defense. "Are you alright?" Kiba looked, to say the least, scared shitless. The girl took one look at him and began to laugh, curling up while holding her stomach.

"I'm okay," she said, quickly calming herself with a nervous laugh. "You didn't touch me. Is this your first time working in the tunnels too?"

"Uh, yeah. This is my first time," Kiba quickly lied (sort of), becoming extremely stiff and standing up straighter. Sasuke and Naruto hid in the shadows, keeping extremely quiet as they watched the scene before them. The girl didn't seem to take notice of the hidden audience as her attention was solemnly kept on Kiba. "I was just -um." The girl began to laugh sweetly, catching Kiba off guard and leaving him speechless.

"This is so exciting," she said gleefully, lightly bouncing on her feet . "This is my first time meeting a boy. Um." She frantically held out a hand. "My name is Maria."

"Kiba's the name," Kiba politely responded, reach out his hand. Before they could shake Maria took back her hand.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I could make you sick," Maria wailed loudly, stomping her feet. Her voice echoed through the cave walls. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

"It's fine. I'm sorry too. I wasn't thinking either. Please, stop doing that," Kiba whispered frantically, hoping to stop her yelling, knowing very well they could easily be found. Maria immediately stopped. She stared at Kiba curiously and began laughing.

"Your cute," she suddenly said, with another giggle and a beaming smile. Even from behind, Naruto could see the blush forming on Kiba's face as Kiba tried to hide himself behind his hand. "What brings you to this side?"

"Uh, well, I was looking for my dog-" Kiba began skittishly. Maria gasped loudly, that sounded more like a wail. Kiba looked as if he had almost jumped out of his skin.

"That was your dog. Oh my, I put him outside. I'm so sorry," she said, bowing her head low. Kiba had to step back to give her room to do so.

"It's okay, I was heading outside anyway," Kiba quickly said, standing slightly taller than usual. Maria looked at him curiously before giggling behind her hand once more.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your work. I hope that I'll get to see you again, Kiba" Maria said, giving his name a long, song like call. She bowed once more before heading back down the path. Before disappearing into another room, she looked over her shoulder and gave him a quick wink and a mischievous grin.

"What was that about?" Kiba immediately asked once he, Naruto, and Sasuke had successfully made their way out of the hole and on top of the cliff. Naruto erupted with laughter the first moment he made it out of the hole, Sasuke popping out behind him. Akamaru came trotting out from behind a bush, rejoining the group of boys. They now stood to what is to be a clearing in a forest. There was now no sight or sound of the sea anywhere near them.

"You should have seen yourself," Naruto managed said between laughs. "You totally froze."

"That wouldn't have happened if you didn't push me out like that," Kiba said angrily, his face turning redder by the second. He then turned to Sasuke. "And what about you. You know you could have used your sharingan or something."

"You seemed to have the situation under control," Sasuke simply said, covering the hole to the passageway as it had looked before. Kiba angrily scoffed him off, folding his arms and simply mumbled to himself. Sasuke ignored his pouting and Naruto's amusement. "Either way, I have an idea of where we are going from here."

"Really," Naruto perked, immediately forgetting about Kiba's situation. His mind was back on finding Hinata again. He cheered. "Awesome, where are we heading?" Sasuke looked up at the sky through the trees brush, studying the passing clouds before pointed to his left.

"That way."

"And how would you know that?" Kiba asked, still moping angrily.

"I overheard it through the tunnels. They were talking about the location on Konoha village. It's also a day travel to the village, but the males don't seem to know exactly where it is," Sasuke explained, looking over at Kiba. "This is where you come in, Kiba."

"Oh, okay," Kiba said, annoyingly. "One problem, though. I don't have a scent to follow on." Akamaru suddenly barked energetically. Kiba listened attentively.

"Seem like Akamaru has scent," Naruto noted observantly. Kiba rolled his eyes and gave a big sigh.

"All right, lead the way," Kiba said defeated. Naruto cheered excitedly as Akamaru took off and the tree boys followed close behind. He could picture meeting Hinata the moment he would arrive at her village. He imagined Hinata instantly recognizing him when she took one look. He suppressed his excitement for the moment as he would have to wait a day to finally reunite. Only one more day.

Hinata stood attentively in front of Tsunade's desk, waiting patiently as Tsunade shuffled through stacks of papers.

"Ah ha!" Tsunade exclaimed, pulling a sheet from in-between a pile. She quickly rolled it up and stuffed it inside a cylinder container. "Here it is. This is going to be a delivery mission. The destination is two days travel south of the village in a city where a important client is waiting for this urgent message. I have to make this a solo mission, and there might be a chance of danger, but I'm sure that this won't be much of a problem with your skill. Do you accept?"

"I do," Hinata said, catching the container as Tsunade tossed it at her. "I won't let you down, Lady Tsunade." Tsunade smiled satisfied.

"I know you won't."

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**Next chapter is coming next week.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the late update. Registration was coming and I still didn't do all the things I needed to do so this had to be put on hold for a few days. But it's done and it's here. Enjoy.**

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Naruto peered through the branches of his hiding spot and stared amazed at the tall walls towering in front of him. If he wasn't so sure that they weren't on their own soil, he could convince himself that he was back in his own village. The sky was barely peeking over the horizon and gray clouds were now hovering over them, the image of a passing storm. They had traveled the whole day and night, stopping every once and a while to scavenge for food and take quick naps. Other than those few times, Naruto was the most determined of the group to reach their destination and didn't waste his power concentrating on reaching it. Miraculously, they didn't seem to run into trouble on the way nor did they get lost at anytime. They finally made it to the walls of 'Konohagure' by the next morning, running only on five hours of sleep and solider pills that Kiba had carried along with him.

"What are next move, Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly yet eagerly. Sasuke crouched down next to him on the tree branch, surveying the surroundings of the wall.

"Get inside, what else?" Sasuke replied dully. Naruto didn't hesitate expressing his annoyance with a loud sigh.

"Is that all that you have to say. Don't you have a plan?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Calm down, I'll think of something."

"Why don't you use your Sharingan again, like you did with Shikamaru and Chouji?" Naruto asked.

"You don't realize how much energy I have to exert when I do that do you?" Sasuke asked defensively. Naruto stared directly at him, almost pleading with his eyes. Sasuke sighed tiredly, and scratched his chin, seeming to consider the idea. "Fine, but this is the last time. I only use my Sharingan for dire situations." Sasuke stood up and dusted himself off. Naruto did the same. "Go wake up Kiba and meet me at the east entrance of the gates. I'll probably already be done when you come." With that last command, Sasuke leaped to east gate, visibly disappearing the second his feet left the branch. Naruto didn't waste time and quickly leaped down to ground level. Kiba was fast asleep at the trunk of the tree, Akamaru lying next to him. Akamaru had woken up and moved to his feet the first moment Naruto had landed next to him, but Kiba stayed completely still, deep in sleep. Naruto looked down at the sleeping companion, watching curiously as Kiba mumbled something incoherent in his sleep.

"Kiba, it's time to get up," Naruto called bored, nudging Kiba in the leg. He stirred a bit but didn't move a whole lot. Naruto crouched beside him, inspecting his friend closer. His face was a bit flushed, yet he was relaxed all the same. Naruto grinned mischievously, reaching for the ground and scooping up a hand full of mud and slowly pressed the cold, wet clump of dirt on Kiba's cheek. Kiba immediately yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to jump away from the sudden surge of coldness on the side of his face.

"Wakey, Wakey," Naruto laughed, jumping away as soon as Kiba woke up. He laughed as Kiba yelled again, jumping back up from the ground and clutching his side, yelling for a totally different reason.

"I fell on a rock," Kiba announced angrily, grabbing said rock and throwing it at Naruto. Naruto dodging without stopping his laughter.

"That was for last time with the baby food," Naruto said accomplished, standing arrogantly. "Besides, you were making a weird noise and it started freaking me out." Kiba tried to shake himself out of his drowsiness while wiping off the dirt off his face.

"Wait, what?" Kiba asked pausing for a moment, the blush on his face growing redder.

"That's what you get," Naruto said in the same mocking tone, not hearing Kiba at all. "Come on, we need to go find Sasuke."

"Naruto, wait," Kiba yelled as Naruto jumped on the side of the he was laying on, running up on its side till he was back on the tree tops. Kiba scrambled to get on his feet, Akamaru helping him up as Kiba got on his back, and quickly raced after Naruto.

"Where's Sasuke?" Kiba asked, catching up with Naruto. He was still slightly disoriented from the sudden shock from waking up.

"Sasuke said he was going to be on the east side of the gates, and that's where we're going to meet him," Naruto replied, noticing Kiba staring at him strangely. "What's your problem?"

"Other than the fact that you splat mud in my face," Kiba began, becoming quiet for a moment before hesitantly continuing. "What did you dream about last night?"

"Last night?" Naruto repeated questioning. "What do you mean-" Without any confirmation, he then knew exactly what Kiba was talking about and remembered everything. The image of his dream Hinata came in to his mind, and especially the feeling he felt during it. He could feel a blush rise to his own face. "W-Why would you want to know that?" Naruto couldn't stop the stammering in his voice. He recalled the mocking words he stole from Kiba when he had woken up. "Wait, what were _you _dreaming about?" Kiba's glanced away nervously.

"Uh, flowers," he finally said, so soft that Naruto almost didn't hear him.

"Yeah, that what I was dreaming about too. Flowers," Naruto mimicked awkwardly, looking away nervously. Akamaru suddenly barked, making both boys jumped, almost surprised, out of their stale atmosphere and back into reality. Naruto and Akamaru suddenly stopped on the same branch, just outside of the east gate yet still out of sight.

"So where's Sasuke?" Kiba asked, sliding off Akamaru's back. Both Naruto and Kiba knelt down to peered through the brush, seeing no sight of Sasuke. Also they noticed, without seeing any other person for that matter. On cue, Sasuke's figure appeared walking out of the entrance of the gate, casually like his usual self.

"Is it clear?" Naruto asked, as both him and Kiba approached him after jumping down to ground level.

"All clear," Sasuke confirmed, turning and walking into the village. Naruto and Kiba followed silently taking a good look at the gate keepers who were knocked unconscious in deep sleep at their post; both slumped in their chairs with their heads on the table. The streets were completely empty and silent with only the sound of a distant rumble moving away from the village. "It still early. People will probably be up and out in an hour." He continued on, but Naruto was caught in his own thoughts to pay attention. Naruto felt an excitement rise in him. This was the place that Hinata called her home, the place she grew and lived for her entire life, and the place that he was going to find her. All he had to do now is find Hinata. He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt an annoying poke on his arm.

"Naruto, were you even listening?" Kiba asked, poking him in the arm again.

"We have to go find Hinata," Naruto concluded determinedly, and a bit loudly that Kiba had to take a step away to save his ear drums. "Kiba, here!" Naruto fished into his pocket and pulled out the locket, Hinata's locket, and shoved it into Kiba's face.

"What do you want _me_ to do?" Kiba said, back away and grabbing the locket from Naruto's hand.

"Pick up her scent, duh," Naruto whined, rolling his eyes.

"I can't do that, now. If you haven't noticed, it just rained here. Any scent I get won't work without a trail," Kiba explained, as Naruto stared in disbelief. "Besides, I think this thing would smell more like you than this Hinata." Naruto yelled in annoyance, rustling his hair in frustration.

"Sasuke, what-" Naruto began, turning to address Sasuke, but, now noticed, that Sasuke was nowhere to be found. "Where did Sasuke go?"

"He left when you were thinking to yourself," Kiba answered, examining the locket closer. "He said he was going to go find someone and that you were on your own, well, with me at least." Naruto yelled louder. "Naruto, calm down, we're suppose to keep hidden. Besides, we made it here that should be enough. Come on, we better get to higher ground." Naruto looked around consciously, realizing again where he was.

"Yeah, you're right," Naruto agreed quickly lowing his voice. He followed as Kiba jumped onto the nearest building and proceeded deeper into the into the village by rooftop, like stepping stones across a pond. "I don't know where we should look first." Kiba finally stopped to what seemed to be the shopping district, though it wouldn't be hard to miss. The shopping district looked more flamboyant than either of the boys thought necessary. "Why are we stopping here?"

"This place has more hills than our place," Kiba noted tentatively, scanning the horizon of the village, Akamaru resting at his heels. "And most likely set up differently too. I don't know where the housing district is, which was where I was trying to find, and—and you're not paying attention again!" Naruto was preoccupied looking down at the streets below. He noticed an elderly woman began sweeping in front a shop, turning the sign on the door to read 'open.' There were a few more people roaming the streets as the sun now began rising higher into the sky.

"Why don't we ask the locals?" Naruto asked, feeling proud of the idea. Kiba walked next to him and looked down as well.

"Oh, sure, why not? I mean, I'm pretty sure they won't question the fact that we're, you know, male, not that they'll know that but the fact that we're different and quickly accept that little detail. Not to mention, that the lucky person keep our presents secret because we're not even suppose to be here in the first place. But by all means, go right ahead and ask anyone."

"Okay, I guess you're right," Naruto admitted foolishly, realizing that he couldn't just put on a garment to hide his masculine features. He remembered he could just put baggy clothes on Hinata and he could pass as a pretty guy. He knew a simple disguise couldn't make him pass as a girl; he was simply too big in many way to simply put girl clothes on. He glancing over to a tall, large billboard that stood at the edge of the building across from them; an advertisement for the store. It had a picture of a woman wearing a small fitting, black mini-dress and posing with her hand on her hip and a hand behind her head, with her hair up in pigtails. Slowly, a smile appeared on Naruto's face as an idea popped in his head. "Hey, I got an idea."

"What now?" Kiba asked skeptically, watching curiously as Naruto formed his hands into a sign in front of him and a smoke cloud clouded his entire figure. Kiba jumped back and stared in shock when the smoke quickly disappeared.

"How do I look now?" Naruto asked, his voice jumping to a much higher octave than his regular voice. Naruto had changed his entire image to match the woman on the billboard, from what she wore to the color on her face. Naruto couldn't help but laugh, in his now girl sounding voice, as Kiba stared with his mouth agape, as if he had grown two heads. Playfully, Naruto mimicked the pose on the billboard. "You think this would rise suspicion?"

"Actually, that's actually a good idea," Kiba said, regaining his posture and hiding the blush on his face with his hand. He glanced thoughtfully at the billboard with the image of the woman, then back at Naruto, comparing the two pictures. "But I think it might be a little suspicious if you were the same woman on the billboard. Maybe change into someone else less suspicious." Naruto considered this notion, agreeing with a simple nod. He did the sign again and another puff of smoke surrounded him.

"Okay, how about now?" Naruto said, ditching the person features of the woman on the billboard and replacing it with his own unique style of his own features; blond hair, blue eyes, birth marks and all. Basically, if he appeared if he was a girl himself.

"Wow, that's—," Kiba began, but didn't bother to finish and simply answered with an impressed and approving nod.

"Alright," Naruto cheered with triumph. "I'll be back in a bit. Wish me luck." Kiba waved him off as Naruto rushed to the side of the building and quietly jumped down to the alleyway, deciding beforehand it would be to noticeable to simple appear in the streets. He checked the streets cautiously before exiting the alleyway, unconsciously brushing his dress down. Before he went anywhere, he stood himself in front a store window, checking his appearance. He couldn't help but noticed the 'womanly' features he had to change into. He had used the memory of Hinata as reference, and now felt proud of his work as he stared into his reflection. He had to admit, he made one cute chick.

After his approval of his image, he turned began walking down the street with no real destination. He had no destination. The plan was simple. He just needed to find someone who knew Hinata and ask them where she would lived. Naruto looked at the first woman he was approaching as he walked. He smiled at her when she looked in his direction, but before he could even open his mouth, the woman quickly looked him up and down before quickly passing him without a word. Naruto was taken aback at the strange behavior, but simply shook it off with a shake of his head and simply continued down the street. He looked up at the next woman who looked his way, but before he could even give her the gesture of a smile, she had taken in his appearance and simply looked away as well, as if he didn't exist.

"_What's that all about?_" Naruto thought very puzzled as he glanced back curiously at the passing women. He studied the variety of the women that passed, all that were older than him by at least a couple of decades.

Maybe if he could find someone more friendlier his own age. Before he could look around more, an alluring smell reached his nostrils. His mouth watered and his stomached growled in desperation at the scent. He couldn't be helped be attracted to the familiar scent of his favorite food. He rushed down the street, following the scent trail. He turned the corner and halted amazed. It was a ramen stand, just like the one in his village. It was so convincing, he could believe that he was back home if he wasn't so sure he was in another village. It even had the same name, "Ichiraku Ramen Bar." He wondered if there was a connection.

He immediately rushed under the roof of the stand, pushing away the cloth sigh as he entered.

"Good morning," the young woman welcomed from the behind the counter as he entered, looking over her shoulder. She was busy cleaning pots in the sink, with water boiling on the stove and freshly cut vegetables beside them. "I'm sorry to say, but we're not quite open yet."

"Is it okay if I wait then?" Naruto asked, almost desperately. He couldn't remember the last time he had a bowl of ramen and he'd be damned if he had to run on Kiba's soldier pills.

"If you don't mind waiting a while, then by all means," she replied gladly, turning around to grab a towel to dry her hands. Naruto cheered happily jumping on a seat. "Wow, you're really pretty."

"You really think so?" Naruto asked bashfully, pointing to himself, surprised at the compliment. He didn't really know how to respond.

"Of course. I would have remembered a face like that," she said, continuing with her work. Bringing noodles from under the counter. "You must be new in town. What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto blurted proudly, catching himself after he had said his name. Was it safe to use his real name? He could only shrug slightly, figuring it was too late now, and not like could think of a name on the spot. The woman bursted into laugher, almost knocking a few things off the counter.

"I'm so sorry. That was rude of me," she said looking terribly apologetic, wiping her eyes and reorganizing a few things. "That's kind of a strange name." Naruto kept on smiling, unsure of what exactly what she was laughing at. "My name is Ayame."

"Nice to meet you Ayame," Naruto politely replied.

"Even though it still quite early, did you want to order something?" Ayame asked. Naruto nodded his head vigorously.

"Three bowls of miso ramen please." Ayame looked at him curiously as she began his order.

"Three bowls? That's quite a lot. Are you sure you don't want to start with just one bowl?"

"Nah, three would be just fine. Usually, I would have ten but I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm trying to look for someone," Naruto explained, ignoring Ayame's surprised expression when he mentioned him usual dose of bowls.

"Is that why you came to Konoha?" Ayame asked, finishing adding the final ingredients to Naruto's meal.

"Yep, ah, thank you," Naruto said, grabbing the bowl as Ayame handed it to him. He grabbed a pair of chopstick, breaking them in half, and thank for the food before quickly digging in. Ayame was momentarily in shock as Naruto practically attacked his meal. Naruto was overwhelmed by the taste of real food that he barely noticed the stare he was receiving.

"Well, I hope you find her," Ayame said, slowly regaining her rhythm and began working on Naruto's second bowl. Just as she was doing the finishing touches, Naruto was already done with his first bowl and quickly grabbed the second, starting it with the same manner as the first.

"Ayame, Do you know Hinata Hyuga?" Naruto asked, pausing in the middle of his meal. He had remembered that he needed to find answer. What better way than this nice woman that he just met.

"Hinata, I know her. She always comes to eat here," Ayame said happily, perking up at the sound of the name. "Is that who you're looking for?"

"Yes," Naruto replied excitedly. He had almost knocked over the bowl as he jumped forward in his thrill. It wouldn't really matter though as he had already finished it as well. Ayame placed his final bowl in front of him. "Do you know where I could find her?"

"Well, I know that she lives with her family on her own land," Ayame explained, pointing down the side of the road. "You're just going to keep heading down this road. When you see a wooden post, take a left and keep going and her home will be on the right. Can't miss it." By the time Ayame had finished giving directions, Naruto was already finished with his last bowl and was now digging in his pocket for money. He wondered if they used the same currency, but didn't worry about it when Ayame took his money without complaint.

"Thank you so much," Naruto said as he slid off the chair and bowed.

"No problem," Ayame said with an amused laugh. "I hope you come again."

"Oh, I'll defiantly be back," Naruto assured happily, already considering coming back for lunch and dinner.

"Oh, one more thing," Ayame called before Naruto left. "What's your relationship with Hinata? Are you a friend?" Naruto smiled widely, the familiar warm feeling that he loved rising in his stomach.

"I'm a very good friend."

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**Just to apologize in advance, Hinata won't be featured for a while...I think.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**One word: Finals Week...okay two but yeah. **

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Kiba watched as Naruto sulked behind a lamp post, holding his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth slowly. In a matter of minutes, Naruto dreams of reuniting with Hinata was shattered. Yet he should have known that this would have happened with everything going so smoothly and all; he should have expected it. The Hyuga compound was exactly where Ayame said it was, and it was hard to miss. Kiba had met up with Naruto, spotting him from the rooftops as he had rushed off down the street. In a few seconds, both Naruto and Kiba was standing in front of the compound, staring at the family name on the sign above the door.

"Don't you think that it's still a bit early?" Kiba had asked, as they stood in front of the lock doors. Naruto didn't think anything of it and knocked on the doors anyway, loud and excited. He was nearly shaking in anticipation as he waited for an answer. Kiba was already gone, hiding close by as the door opened and a woman appeared in the door way. At first, she seemed bitter but at the first sight of Naruto instantly warmed up.

"Can I help you?" She asked, opening the door wider.

"Yes, I was wondering in—if Hinata was here—in," Naruto asked quickly, almost jumbling his words together. The woman's face fell instantly and all the eagerness drained out of Naruto.

"I'm sorry, she's out of the village. She won't be back till later tonight. Could you come back later?" She replied sympathetically as Naruto's face fell and simply nodded, turning away and slowly walking away.

"She said that she was coming back into the village later tonight," Kiba said, bring back Naruto from his memory. He had followed Naruto, jumping back down to the streets when they were alone again and no one roamed the street that Naruto decided to run to.

"I know," Naruto whined loudly, burring his heads into knees again. "I just really want to see Hinata again."

"You want to see Hinata?" Naruto froze as the question. That was not Kiba's voice. If it was, he sounded more girlish in just a few seconds. He slowly looked up, seeing another girl, probably a bit older than him, leaning over him curiously; brown eyes and brown hair in an unique style: two buns on top of her head. He looked around seeing no trace of Kiba or his dog, Akamaru, anywhere.

"Uh, yeah," Naruto said quickly, after he realized he was staring at her, shocked at the sudden appearance. Naruto couldn't help but notice how cute her hair looked. "Do you know her?" His interest peaked. Was this one of Hinata's friends?

"Yeah, we're really good friends," she answered looking down curiously at him. "I'm sorry to say but she's not in the village right now."

"I know," Naruto said with a pout, not able to hide his sadly. "I went by her home today. She wasn't there." Naruto didn't notice the girl watching him contently.

"I've never seen you before. Are you new to the village?" Naruto looked up to see the girl, kneeling beside him, looking at him very concerned. Naruto nodded stiffly, suddenly becoming nervous by her closeness to him. "I figured. I would remember face like yours. How do you know Hinata?"

"I'm...an old friend," Naruto answered, watching as the girl suddenly got up and dusted herself off.

"Well, a friend of Hinata is a friend of mine," She said, holding out a hand. Naruto reluctantly took it and let her pull him out of his hiding spot. "You got a name."

"Naruto," he answered, dusting himself off.

"Tenten," she said. "You're an old friend, huh? Funny, Hinata never mentioned you before."

"That's strange," Naruto began nervously. He knew Hinata didn't remember him, since he didn't remember Hinata at first, but Naruto wasn't prepared to be questioned like this. Her silently gave himself a reminder to hit Kiba later for simply leaving him without telling him, especially so suddenly. The best chance he had right now was to lie. "We've been friends for at least a couple of months a while back. I feel really bad for not visiting her, so I came to this village to see her." It wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh, wait a minute, that's right," Tenten suddenly said, snapping her fingers. "Hinata lost her memory."

"She lost her memory," Naruto said worried and shock. "Does that mean she won't remember me?"

"Well," Tenten said tentatively, laughing reluctantly. "I'm pretty sure she'll remember when she sees you. Until she comes back, why don't you hang around with me for the rest of the day?"

"Don't you have things to do?," Naruto replied curiously. "I don't want to hold you up on any errands you have."

"Of course I do," Tenten said, shaking her head. "But you look so lost, I feel bad just leaving you alone. Besides, you don't know anyone else in the village besides Hinata, do you?" Naruto simply laughed, quickly stopping with a unsure groan. "That's very dangerous, especially someone as pretty as you."

"Why does everyone always say I'm pretty?" Naruto asked, getting to Tenten's side as she began walking away.

"Because you are. That's probably one of the reasons I'm helping you."

"Well, I think your pretty too. Especially your hair. It's very cute" Naruto complimented eagerly. If it was one think that Naruto learned spending time around Tenten was that females loved compliments, all along the words of cute, beautiful, gorgeous. He even saw it in action when Tenten got a discount on something she was buying. Tenten had taken him nearly all around town, showing him shops and local businesses while she did what she needed to do.

"Where are you staying?" Tenten suddenly asked, after they went past a couple of hotels.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, not really paying attention. He was busy looking putting some powder on his face that he bought. He had no particular reason to buy the make-up at the store, simply that he was interested in it. He hadn't noticed it at first, but many older women were wearing make-up. Some that was visibly noticeable and others not. He was especially surprised that they seemed natural when it really wasn't. Apparently, image was another importance in the women's society that Naruto had learned.

"Where are you staying?" Tenten asked again, noticing Naruto's interest in the cover up.

"I'm not staying anywhere at the moment," Naruto said automatically, still preoccupied with his bought goods. He paused in his interest, quickly realizing what he did, again. "I mean, I'm not...planning on staying in a hotel. I'm sort of camping out near the woods." He ended with a nervous laugh, rubbing the side of his face harder with the powder. He had trouble paying attention to what Tenten was saying when he was distracted with everything around him, even though he should pay attention with all the questions she's been asking of him.

"Really? You don't look like that kind of girl who would like doing things like that," Tenten said intrigued, watching Naruto in amusement as he examined his make-up. "Have you even worn make up before?" Naruto grinned childishly. "Here, this is how you do it." Naruto gave Tenten the powder and drew him closer. Naruto blushed as Tenten grabbed the side of his face, examining it before applying the base. "Don't mind me asking but, what are these lines on your face."

"They are birthmark-" Naruto was cut short as a cold, wet familiar substance slapped on the side of his face, splattering down to his neck. Tenten gasped stepping back as Naruto stood frozen as the clumpy substance slowly sliding down his face. Mud. Naruto was instantly reminded of the baby food incident. "What the hell! Who did that!" Naruto looked around, his sight automatically going up to the rooftops. His first thought was that Kiba was getting his revenge from what he did earlier that day. His sight dropped back down to eye level when Tenten quickly pulled a kunai from her pack and threw it, her aim in the shadows of a casting alley way.

"Gottcha," Tenten said already running to the gap between the building. Naruto followed while attempting to wipe the dirt off his face. As he approached, he could see in the darkness a small girl with a handkerchief on her face, struggling to break hold of kunai pinning her shirt to the wall. Tenten quickly grabbed the girl's arm in a tight grip before releasing her shirt from the Kunai tacked onto the wall. She tucked her kunai away before removing the girl's mask. "Hey, I know you. You're Hinata's little sister."

Naruto looked down at the small girl, instantly recognizing the Hyuga signature eyes. He couldn't help but smile at the similarities that he could see in the small girls face.

"Yeah, and your her annoying friend," the small girl snapped sarcastically, still trying her best to release herself from Tenten's hold. "Let me go. I didn't do it." she suddenly stopped struggling, finally noticing Naruto curious stare. "Who are you?"

"I'm your sister's other friend, Naruto." Naruto pointed to himself, bending down slightly to level with the small girl. Hinata's sister stared almost astonished for a moment before her face twisted snidely again.

"My sister can make some really stupid looking friends."

"Naruto, watch out!" Tenten's warning came too late as another ball of mud collided with Naruto's face, knocking him back a few steps. Naruto quickly wiped the mud off his face to watch as the small girl to slip through Tenten's grasp and run down the alley, rejoining her two friends at the end; the perpetrator for the second blow.

"Sucker!" They yelled together.

"Sorry, Naruto, she-" Tenten began, but Naruto was already winding up his arm and threw a wad of mud at the girls, almost too fast to see. The girls screamed as the mud ball Hinata's sister square in the chest and splattered to her friends as well.

"Take that you little brats," Naruto yelled at them with a short, amused laugh. "There's more where that came from." He bent down and scooped a handful of fresh mud from the ground and threw it. He wasn't as lucky this time as the girls quickly moved out of the way; one of them already running away.

"You'll pay for that," Hinata's sister yelled before disappearing down the street with her friends.

"I'd like to see you try," Naruto yelled, still wiping the mud off his face. He laughed turning back to Tenten who stared astonished. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Tenten replied with a suppressed giggle. "It's just that I'd never seen a reaction like that, especially when they just been hit in the face with mud."

"It's just mud. Besides, the boy-uh girls in my village do the same thing. Is that so weird?" Tenten approached Naruto and began pulling slicks of mud out of his hair.

"Not weird. Just unusual. Mud throwing isn't exactly encouraged here." Naruto began helping her with his own hair, finding more wet dirt in his hair than he thought. He looked back down the alley way where the girls once stood.

"So that was Hinata's sister?" Naruto asked. Tenten nodded with a hum, still trying to brush the mud of Naruto. "What's her name?"

"Hanabi. And yes, she is usually like this." She suddenly sighed loudly, giving up and backing away. "I'm so sorry. You're such a mess." Naruto looked down at himself, now noticing exactly how bad he looked covered in mud. He wouldn't mind it, but from the look Tenten was giving him, he believed he should be more worried about his appearance. "Let's go find a place so you can clean up. I think my friends house is a couple of blocks from here."

Naruto was confused at first when Tenten lead him inside a flower shop. He wondered if Tenten said something about dropping by here for another errand before heading to her friend's house, but recalled nothing which just left him baffled. As they entered, Naruto was immediately drawn to the pots of flowers that were lined up and down the shop. He wondered, even as they first approached the shop, why there was even a shop for flowers. Anyone could just find them growing in some field and pick them for free. Then again, they wear makeup all the time, so he figured he must be one of those culture things.

He didn't have time to ask as Tenten approached a blond girl, who Naruto finally noticed, at the counter engrossed completely in the magazine opened in front of her.

"I'll be with you in just a minute," she said dully, flipping another page in her magazine. She didn't even bother to look up to see who she was talking to.

"I can understand if it were a customer, but is that how you greet your friends?" Tenten immediately said, casually slamming her hands on top of the counter. The girl immediately looked up, startled at the sudden sound and her attention quickly drawn away from her magazine to Tenten.

"Tenten!" She nearly yelled, jumping over the counter to pull her into a hug. "Where have you been. I haven't seen you for days. Please tell me I have a mission or something. I don't know how long I can stand looking over my mom's shop. It's so boring here."

"Unfortunately, no mission or anything like that," Tenten said, giving her friend a quick hug before pulling away. "Actually, I was hoping you would let my new friend use your bathroom." Tenten beckoned Naruto over from the plants he was occupying himself with. "This is Naruto. She just came into town today and became a target for those miniature mud-slingers running around town."

"I know how that feels," Tenten's friend said . "Naruto, huh? That's a strange name. The name's Ino Yamanaka. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh, the pleasure is mine," Naruto replied politely, noticing as Ino began looking him up and down, from his head to his toes. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this everyone here does this? He couldn't remember if Tenten did this as well. Before Naruto could say anything, Ino pointed behind her to an opening to a hallway.

"Just go down to the right and it's the last door on the left."

"Thank you," Naruto said, quickly following the girls instructions and disappearing into the hallway, giving Tenten a quick look before he was out of sight. The moment Naruto was out of sight, he could hear the whispers between the two girls began.

"Who was that?" He could hear Ino whisper. "Is she a model?"

"I don't think so," Tenten's low voice carried through the hall. "She says she's from the seaside country and that she's friends with Hinata. Have you heard Hinata say anything about her."

"I've never heard Hinata mention anyone with _that_ kind of a name. What? Why did you give me that look?" Naruto could hear Tenten sigh.

"Nothing. I'm just worried how Naruto will react when he meets Hinata. I mean, she lost her memory and when she hears that. She's going to be devastated."

"That might not be the case though. When she meets Hinata, Hinata might have her memory jogged and remember her. Hey, if she's looking for Hinata why is she hanging with you?"

"Hinata's gone on a mission remember? She won't be back for a while-" Naruto decided to leave his eavesdropping and continued down the hall. He closed the door behind him as he entered the small bathroom. He began cleaning the, now dried, mud off his face, body, and clothes. After he was done, he couldn't help but look through the cabinets. Curiosity of a new space.

Underneath the sink, his attention was caught on a green box with small cylinder packages kept inside. He pulled one out and felt inside, feeling plastic inside the package.

"Tampons," Naruto read out loud, peering closer on the box. He flipped the box and began reading the instructions very interested in the pictures provided. "Oh!...oh." His brows burrowed as he slipped the package back in the box and placed the box back under the counter, an uneasy shiver overcoming him as he closed the cabinet door. "No offence Hinata, but I kind of glad I'm not a girl."

He quietly closed the door behind him as he left the bathroom, hearing new voices as he walked back down the hall. It now sounded as two more people joined the couple waiting for him.

"Why is everyone finding new friends all of a sudden?" He could hear Ino say quite loudly, slowing his pace till he was stagnant with each step. "Now I feel like I should find someone good looking to befriend."

"I guess these things just happen, besides she came to the village to look for someone." Naruto didn't recognize this voice. He figured that someone else must have entered the shop during his absents. He peeked around the corner just as he reached the end of the hallway. He saw two other girls standing around the counter of the shop. One of the girls had bright pink hair with the same face that everyone seems to have and another with long dark hair, except she looked somehow familiar to him

"Everyone is looking for someone- hey you're back," Tenten said, noticing him after a few side glances. She turned to the pink hair girl. "Sakura, this is the person I found today, Naruto. Naruto this is my other friend, Sakura, and- I'm sorry what was your name again." Naruto's eyes widen and mouth fell open as the other girl spoke. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"The name's Sasuke. And don't worry about introductions. We already know each other."

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**Hopefully soon...**


	6. Chapter 6

**I want to apologize to everyone profusely for the long wait. I know I haven't updated since last year, but that was because I was really enjoying my winter vacation...when I do absolutely nothing but goof around. Here's the chapter you all have been waiting for.**

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The sky was cleared of the dark clouds when early afternoon arrived. Naruto had noticed this when he was staring out and up at the sky from one of the Dango shop that resided in the city. He claimed window seat when they first chosen a booth to eat at. Ino and Sakura shared a seat across from him while Sasuke occupied the space next to him. Tenten, unfortunately for him, was called away by duty. (The reason Sakura was at the Flower shop in the first place.) He seriously was beginning to miss presents practically seconds after she left. He knew from the first few moment before they moved location that he wasn't going to like her absents.

"Sorry to leave suddenly like this," he remembered Tenten saying to him. She was halfway out the door with Naruto, while Sakura and Ino overlooked their absents at the counter with Sasuke.

"It's fine," he replied, brushing off the inconvenient apology. "It's understandable."

"If you're still it town when I come back, we should really hang out."

"You can count on it." With those last words, Tenten smiled and waved good bye as she left through the entrance. Naruto peeked out of the shop, waving till she disappeared before suddenly became very serious. He turned back around slowly to the group still huddled around the counter with a clearly angry glare at Sasuke. The last this he expected to meet was Sasuke disguising himself as well and it was more than he had ever expected. When he heard Sasuke introduce himself, he had to force back every muscle in his body to freak out. His actions went unnoticed as Sasuke was occupied with Sakura's and Ino's pursuing questions.

"How long are you going to be in town Sasuke?" Ino asked, completely absorbed with Sasuke presents. Sakura was also too completely distracted as well to notice Naruto's annoyance or, at least, Tenten's departure. They both leaned

"I'm not quite sure yet," Sasuke answered honestly, taking a half-step away from the counter. He finally glanced in Naruto's direction, becoming slightly confused at the stare, that he finally noticed, he was receiving from Naruto.

"Really, if you have some time right now, we could hang out," Sakura said with a mesmerized stare. Sasuke grunted uneasily, with a small attempt smile.

"Actually, I was looking for Naruto here," Sasuke explained, walking back to where Naruto stood and quickly grabbed his arm. "Since I have found _her_, I have something very important to discuss with her. It was really nice meeting the two of you-" Sasuke quickly turned a very surprised Naruto back around to the exit, but was pulled back, with Naruto in tow, when Sakura pulled his arm.

"Oh, but you just arrived in the city did you not?" Sakura asked, ignoring Sasuke's apparent struggles to get free. "You had a tiring trip, you must feel like resting some at least."

"Thank you, but-" he interrupted, firmly releasing himself and turning back around to the door. He was stopped as Ino stood at the entrance gibing no way of escape. Naruto gave a double take to her and back to the counter.

"Please, we have a lot of questions to ask you," Ino insisted, almost begging. Sakura suddenly grabbed Naruto and pulled him close to her, catching him completely off guard.

"And Naruto can come along too," Sakura said, having a firm hold on Naruto's arm.

"I...but," Naruto stuttered, flustered by the sudden contact.

"Besides, you're waiting for Hinata to come back to village and she won't be here for a long while. So, what do you say?" Naruto had to look down to actually see Sakura in the eye, her smile triggering a longing memory of Hinata. He couldn't help but smile himself at the small reminder.

"Okay," Naruto automatically said, unaware of what he had just agreed to. It wasn't until later as he was sitting bored out of his mind in the shop that he made a terrible mistake of opening his mouth. At first he thought it would be a great idea to annoy Sasuke, but in the end, he had just annoyed himself.

"So, you're saying that you don't use any enhance products on your hair, face, or skin," Sakura confirmed, a barely noticeable skepticism in her tone; but it was there. Sasuke stared emotionless yet uneasily at the two girl leaning over the table, anticipating.

"Yes, I only the...regular products," Sasuke answered awkwardly, sitting stiffly under their stares. Naruto, after getting bored of the view outside, also noticed Sakura's and Ino's strange behavior. There was a delicate pause from both groups.

"Aren't you lucky, Sasuke," Ino replied grimily, her smile forced instead of natural like a few minutes ago. "Unlike the rest of us." She mumbled her last words bitterly while turning away. Sakura didn't hesitate to cover her friends actions.

"What Ino is trying to say is that it's great you are an all natural," Sakura politely said with a nervous laugh. "We just thought that you would use something more. You do look like a model, after all." Naruto gave a snort of a laugh, receiving a strange look from Sakura and Ino.

"Uh, I know Sasuke has to train hard every day to keep in shape," Naruto quickly said, averting the subject back to Sasuke.

"Is that so?" Ino piped up, her mood suddenly changing back onto a brighter note. "I get it now. You're like Tenten. 'Beauty will come through hard work.' That's what she says."

"Yes, I like that saying," Sasuke immediately replied, with a sharp nod. Both girls nodded as well, satisfied with the answer before turning their heads sharply to Naruto.

"I do the same thing. I have to keep the pounds off after everything I eat," Naruto said nervously.

"That's good," Ino ended, seeming as if she wanted to say more but kept silent as their food arrived. Naruto quickly snacked up his order and nearly inhaling a dango in his mouth. He immediately stopped chewing, noting a few eyes on him; including a few tables over. He quietly swallowed and apologized with a small promise to eat more slowly.

"So Sasuke," Sakura began casually. "Unless we get called for something, we can go searching with you." This perked Naruto's interest.

"Thank you, but I would prefer to look on my own," Sasuke replied politely.

"Look for what?" Naruto suddenly asked, blurting the words out before he could stop himself. Sakura and Ino glance at him curiously.

"Is that why you girls came to Konoha?" Ino asked. She pointed to Naruto. "You were looking for Hinata." Then she pointed to Sasuke. "And you would looking for your mother." Naruto swallowed hard the tea he was drinking, pounding himself in the chest, clearing his passage way again.

"Mother?" Naruto spat out, completely shocked. He turned to Sasuke, freezing up at Sasuke's glowering glare.

"Yes," Sasuke hissed, taking a short sip from his cup before turning away swiftly. "That's why we're here." Naruto suddenly grew silent, wanting to be anything but. For the first time, Naruto realized why Sasuke had helped him try to find Hinata in the first place. He was given the answer before he could ask the question. He thought about Sasuke's previous actions and the pieces in his head began fitting together.

Before he could think about it anymore, the whole table was interrupted by a loud slam on the table. All four of them jumped at the sight of a woman stand at the edge of their booth, her hand slammed on the table and a cheeky grin on her face.

"I come bearing a message from the fifth Hokage," she said, chewing on the pick that probably held a few dango seconds ago. She addressed Sakura and Ino, ignoring the presence of Sasuke and Naruto. "The Lady was both of you to the hospital, pronto." Sakura and Ino faces fell at the news, while as Sasuke grew pleased.

"Aww, sorry girls," Sakura quickly apologized, scooting herself out of the booth.

"Maybe we can see each other later," Ino added.

"Maybe so," Sasuke politely answered, with a barely audible breath of relief. He moved to pushed himself out of the booth as well until the woman place a sturdy hand on his shoulder. Naruto yelp, bumping into Sasuke's unmoving body, ready to question it till he saw the woman's motions. They both looked up surprised at the strange woman, her smile twisting into a mischievous grin.

"The Lady also wanted me to personally escort you two girls to her office, as soon as I found you two."

Naruto couldn't believe what was happening at the moment. It hadn't been even half a day and they had already been caught. Naruto kept repeating the same facts in his head, following behind Sasuke in a slow pace. Sasuke, however, didn't seem to be affected by their situation. He almost seemed pleased to be escorted by this woman, who they learned her name to be Anko.

"How long since you three made it into the village?" Anko asked curiously, closing the doors behind them as they entered the Hokage tower.

"Three?" Naruto questioned. Anko laughed, leading the two boys up the stairs and down a couple of hallways, passing many doors along the way.

"You didn't think you're third wheel wouldn't be found. Actually, he was somewhat the reason that you two were caught in the first place."

"What?" Naruto whined in disbelief, running a hand through his hair after smacking himself on the forehead. "I can't believe it. Kiba, what did you do?" Anko laughed harder at Naruto's actions.

"You can ask him personally when you see him," Anko answered, still laughing to herself. Anko stopped in front of a door and opened it walking in first, beckoning Naruto and Sasuke to follow. "My Lady, I brought the two, just as you asked."

Naruto immediately recognized the blond woman sitting behind the desk placed at the other end of the room. Just the sight of her was all the reminded of what she did to him and Hinata, the only thought that made his anger rose. He glared at the woman.

Tsunade stared back, a sly grin forming on her face. She calmly stood up and walked around her desk, leaning back on the front.

"Thank you. You're excused," Tsunade said, waving Anko away. She simply nodded and quietly left the room. As soon as the door closed behind her, Naruto burst out in a full run towards Tsunade, his hand balled in a fist. With a straight swing, he aimed for her face. In one swift move, Tsunade blocked his attack, catching his fist in the palm of her hand, inches away from her face.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me and Hinata," Naruto hissed, giving her a harsh glare. Tsunade matched his stare, unmoved by his words.

"Calm down," She replied coolly, raising her other hand and flicked Naruto square in the forehead, sending him flying back across the room. Sasuke quickly stepped to the side as Naruto crashed against the door. He suddenly became surrounded by smoke and was quickly changed back to his regular self. Finding it completely useless, Sasuke released his transformation jutsu, changing back to his regular self as well. Naruto scrambled back on to his feet, ready to defend himself if needed, but Tsunade rested back onto her desk again. "I can see you're angry, but I did what I thought was necessary."

"You erased the memories of all my friends," Naruto yelled angrily. "What was necessary about that?"

"I still believed that the virus still existed," Tsunade admitted. "But that was then. It was after you told me about your secret relationship with Hinata did I ordered a revised update on the virus and-" She paused, crossing her arms and hanging her head, as if in thought.

"And what?" Naruto demanded. "Am I right? Is the virus gone?" Tsunade made a solemn chuckle.

"No," she answered seriously.

"What? It still exist?" Naruto asked, baffled by the answer. "How can that be? Hinata and I spend nearly half a year together and neither of us became sick in any way."

"That's what bothering me," Tsunade admitted. "You both have the virus but neither of you are showing any symptoms of it. That may mean that the virus can no longer attack our bodies, that is why I'm conducting an experiment." Naruto remain silent, interested at the news. "Project Merge."

"You're going to combine the two genders?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Gradually, though. Slowly expose the opposites to each other," Tsunade quickly explained, smiling at the sudden out burst from Naruto. "Then we'll see where that takes the village."

"Project Merge?" Sasuke asked skeptically. "When did you come up with this?"

"Just a few hours ago," Tsunade replied impressed with herself. "I got the idea when I saw you," she motioned to Sasuke, "walking around with my apprentice. I'm actually surprised to see you here, Uchiha. I know why Naruto's here, but what business do _you_ have here in this village?"

"I'm looking for my mother," Sasuke calmly answered. Tsunade nodded turning back to her desk.

"I thought so." She grabbed a note card and a key from across the table. She gave the card to Sasuke and she gave the key to Naruto. "Go to the top address in exactly an hour from now. She'll be expecting the both of you." Naruto looked at the key curiously as Sasuke stared down at the card, emotionless but a new anticipation in his eyes.

"What's the second address?"

"That's where you'll find your friend Kiba. Before you leave, I need to ask you, Naruto." Naruto drew his attention back to Tsunade, placing the key in his pocket. "How did you regain your memory?"

"I found this thing," Naruto answered, reaching in another pocket. He pulled out Hinata's necklace, letting it swing from it's chain. "This belonged to Hinata and when I found it, it triggered something in my head. After a while, I remembered everything." Tsunade took the necklace and played with it in her hand before returning it to him, a sweet smile on her face.

"Hope that it does the same to her."

"Why?" Naruto asked confused. "Aren't you going to give her memory back." Tsunade shook her head sadly.

"What I did was permanent. You have to make her remember like you did. If not, you'll just have to start your relationship over again." Naruto placed the necklace back in his pocket, silently praying that Hinata would remember just from by the look of him. "One last thing, though it was nice and amusing at first, don't hide yourselves behind a transformation. I would like this village to get used to males as quickly as possible."

Naruto wished that they could still use transformation. The first second that they exited the Hokage tower, they were stared down by passerby immediately after. Women of all ages in their daily routines stopped and stared, quickly nearing near their friends to whisper quietly to each other. Naruto was frozen in his spot, like he was on stage with the spotlight on him; exposed. He glanced towards Sasuke who was ignoring the stares by looking down at the card he was given. Even though his face held no expression, Naruto could tell by his awkward stance that he was uneasy about the curious eyes as well.

"Shouldn't we start walking or something," Naruto whispered consciously, unable to break off the stare of the other women around them. Sasuke finally looked up and put the card back in his pocket.

"Let's go by rooftop," Sasuke quickly disappearing, leaving Naruto alone.

"Hey, wait for me," Naruto yelled in a panic, chasing after him. He was relieved to be out of sight the second he was above ground level. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"I know exactly where we're going," Sasuke answered. "I passed the place earlier today." It wasn't until a few minutes later till Sasuke stopped at the edge of a building. Naruto pause next to him, looking down at the house down and across the street from them. They could see above the fence surrounding the property. The pack of dogs laying in the backyard was a dead giveaway that they had made it to the right place and they didn't have to think twice.

Naruto and Sasuke both dropped back down to the streets once they checked that the coast was clear. The last thing they wanted was stares from on-lookers.

"I wonder how Kiba's doing?" Naruto thought out loud, as they both approached the front door.

"I'm wondering how Kiba blew our cover," Sasuke said, non-hesitant knocking on the door. Immediately after, a round of barks from inside were heard. The door opened and, for a moment thought it was Kiba who answered but, it was a rugged woman that appeared in the entrance way. She was mere image of Kiba; down to the brown brush hair, fierce eyes, and face markings.

"You must be Kiba's friends," she said excitedly, a genuine smile spreading across face and she stepped to the side. "Don't be shy, come on in." The boys followed quietly behind, Sasuke closing the door behind them. The house was somewhat messy and surprisingly didn't smell that much like dog, as Naruto expected it to. As they entered the main living room, he spotted a large dog with an eye patch sitting on the sofa. It seemed very familiar to Naruto, but couldn't quite place where he had seen it. "I noticed you guys decided to drop the disguise this time. Is Lady Tsunade eager to change the system that quickly?"

"I guess," Naruto said awkwardly.

"You guess?" she laughed, guiding them down a hallway. "I looking forward to it." Without hesitation, went through the last door.

"Kiba, you have visitors," she sang, bursting into the room. Naruto and Sasuke waited in the hallway, peering into the room. Kiba was sitting on a bed in a bedroom, newly cleaned it seemed, with Akamaru sitting on the floor next to it. Kiba held a small puppy in his arms and was occupied bottle-feeding it.

He quickly stood up at the sudden intrusion, keeping the small pup close to him. He didn't have time to react as the woman wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, tight yet gentle enough not hurt the pup in his hands. "We can talk later. I'll take this." She grabbed the pup out of Kiba's hands and gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head before heading out of the room.

"The names Tsume," she said, addressing Naruto and Sasuke as she walked pass them out of the room. "Call if you boys need anything."

"Who was that?" Naruto asked amazed, once Kiba had pulled them both inside the room and closing the door.

"That was my...mother?" Kiba answered, unsure of his words.

"You mean that was your mother," Naruto confirmed, bewildered.

"Well, yeah," he answered, walking back to the bed and taking a seat back in his spot next to Akamaru. "And I totally believe it. You saw her. She looks exactly like me. Actually, to be correct, I look like her. Since she _had_ me and all."

"_Had_ you?" Naruto repeated, taking a seat next to him. "What's that mean?" Sasuke took a chair across the room, gazing outside the window it was placed next to.

"I don't know. We were talking, explaining things to me, then she started talking about...really strange things. That was just a minute ago, then you guys came, and I really needed the break. How did things go on your end?"

"Well, it wasn't until after lunch till we were found out," Naruto began, crossing his arms.

"They found us even before that," Sasuke corrected, still looking outside.

"Sorry, that was partially my fault," Kiba admitted.

"What happened?" Kiba scratched the back of his head, groaning loudly.

"Let's see, it was after I had talked to you." he motioned to Sasuke, then began explaining to Naruto. "He came a while after you did you're transformation jutsu. I told him what you did, then ditched me soon after." He glance at Sasuke, but he was busy staring outside again. "Since _I_ had no reason to come to this town, I went exploring and started people watching."

"Then someone spotted you," Naruto guessed.

"Not just anyone, the most important person in this whole village. The Hokage."

"Hmm, you don't get caught that easily so that would make sense. Where were you?"

"Apparently somewhere I wasn't allowed; a bathhouse."

"You went into a bathhouse?" Naruto asked intrigued and amused. "Even I know not to go near those around here." He couldn't keep his laughter in. Sasuke also looked amused at the statement as well, even if he didn't fully faced his friends.

"Would have been nice if you told me that before," Kiba said angrily.

"What? Were you spying on people bathing," Naruto asked suspiciously.

"I wasn't spying on anyone," Kiba replied annoyed, his face turning a dark shade of red. "I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was looking for a place to rest your stuff that you guys dumped on me so I could get some rest, so I went near the edge of town, near the bathhouses, so I get water as well right. When I was resting in the brushes, there was this strong scent of flowers, and when I mean strong, I mean overwhelming. I couldn't even breath. When I went to investigate, I-" He paused for a moment, becoming uneasy. "I may have taken a quick peek inside the bath."

"May?" Naruto teased, hiding his laughter behind his hand.

"Okay, I looked inside, so what. It was really foggy so I didn't see anything indecent, you can stop looking at me like that," Kiba quickly addressed Sasuke, failing to rid the smirk on his face. "Someone spilled a bottle of something from what I can tell and not two seconds when I looked, a basket flew straight in my face. Knocked me completely out. When I came to, I was surrounded. That's how I got caught. How they found you guys, was my sister's doing."

"Sister? You also have a sister?" Naruto asked astounded.

"Apparently, I have an older sister," Kiba explained. "She was one of the people who was at the bathhouse. When she first saw me, she instantly recognized me, even though we never met. Things then got very emotional. You probably don't want to hear that but they did found your stuff that I was holding. They used the scent off your things to find you."

"Where is our things?" Naruto asked, looking around the room.

"The Hokage took them. Said she would give them to you later." Naruto hummed, knowing Tsunade hadn't said anything about their personal supplies, but also knew Kiba wouldn't really know where they would be either. Sasuke and him would just have to figure it out later.

"How did you meet your mother?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"It was right after they caught me. I was escorted by some creepy snake woman, I'm pretty sure Sasuke and her would be good friends. She brought me here." Kiba finally stopped after taking a deep, shaky breath.

"And then what happened?" Naruto urged on eagerly.

"And that was it. I met her when she opened the door," Kiba said, now looking more tired as he talked. "She explained everything to me. She was one of the few that knew about the two villages and the separation of the...gender?" He looked to Naruto unsure of himself. Naruto nodded, motioning for him to continue. "She knew the reason why and how and...everything. She even told me how _our_ Hokage was the fake and that blond woman was the real deal. Kind of disappointing to hear but It would make more sense. She was just about to explain how the infant-system worked till you two showed up." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing tiredly again.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked, catching on Kiba's condition.

"It's tiring," he answered, now dropping his head into his hands. Akamaru whined beneath his feet. "Just about a week ago, I didn't know any of this existed. And now I have a mother and a sister. Everything's moving too fast for me. I'm tired of talking. What about your end? What happened?" Naruto explained everything starting talking about his experience, learning the predicament with Hinata and meeting Tenten. Sasuke explained his experience looking around town and asking question, meeting Sakura and emphasizing the fact that she wouldn't stop "helping" him.

They then continued to explain how their encounter with Sakura and Ino, how they got caught, leading up to the part where they talked with Tsunade and her upcoming project.

"Project Merge?" Kiba repeated skeptically. "Sound like something she made on the spot."

"It was," Naruto said, unbelieving of the Hokage's thoughts. "She says she's going to merge the two genders together gradually."

"You mean relocation?" Naruto nodded eagerly. "How's that going to work?"

"Just how it says," Sasuke answered, sounding noticeably rushed than usual. "She's going to move people between the two villages. She's going to move Shinobi from here over there and vice versa."

"I bet you anything that I'll probably be transferred," Kiba commented, giving a weak laugh. "Since I have no immediate family over there and I have a mother and sister here, my position is a pretty much given."

"Especially how your mother acts towards you," Naruto said amicably. Kiba laughed, becoming more relaxed.

"Yeah, which reminds me, how did your search-" Kiba began to ask Sasuke, but stopped noticing he seemed to be edgy by the second. "What's the matter than you?"

"Nothing," Sasuke answered curtly, a noticeable shake in his foot.

"Are you getting nervous?" Naruto asked interested. Sasuke didn't answer, only making the sound of an annoyed grunt.

"Nervous for what?" Kiba asked curiously.

"I think in a little while we're suppose to go see his mother," Naruto said, glance towards a clock hanging on the wall.

"So you did find her? That's good. Your search wasn't in vain." Kiba ignored him when he knew Sasuke wasn't going to respond, and turned to Naruto. "What about you?"

"I already told you, Hinata won't be coming back till probably a couple of days," Naruto explained. Kiba shook his head.

"I mean what about your mother?" Naruto was taken aback. He wasn't expecting anything like that at all. "My mother told me that everyone has a mother and a father, so you must have a mother? Have you even thought about it?"

"No, I actually haven't," Naruto replied, now feeling more guilty the more he thought about it. Sasuke abruptly stood up and looked at the clock, making Kiba and Naruto jump. Naruto followed his sight to the clock. They had spent nearly a hour and a half talking with Kiba and the day was ending fast.

"We better get going," Sasuke finally said, looking more nervous than Naruto had ever seen him.

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**Yep, extra long chapter this time. It was either make it too short or make it too long...so I chose the latter. It'll probably be a while till the next chapter will be up. Till then...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here it is. I apologize for the long wait. Just to keep it update, I'm not planing to abandon this story. I don't have as much time as I had last year. But little by little, I'm able to write. Enjoy.  
**

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Naruto noticed that the day was going by faster than he thought. As they, Sasuke and Naruto, arrived to the second address on the card, the sun was already close to the horizon, moving closer with each passing minute. At the beginning of the trip, he had thought that this 'mission' would take months, but now, realized that anything could happen within the span of just a day.

The address had led them both in front of an apartment complex at the outskirts of town. A reasonable size, three stories building placed at the end of many other apartment complexes.

"Are we going to go inside or what?" Naruto asked, looking around the area. There were only a few on looks, mostly elderly women and very small girls, that probably lived in the area around as well. Sasuke didn't answer. Instead he just stood there, staring at the door where the number matched the card he was given. He didn't looked fazed, yet he didn't seem that confident either, and Naruto couldn't blame him. He himself was also in somewhat in an inner battle with himself.

They didn't go by rooftop, as they did before. Instead, they took to the street in a casual stroll. There weren't that many people in the evening, but the ones that were didn't look on with curiosity as before. They glance with what almost seemed to be interest. If Naruto had to guess, word travel much faster in this village than in their own. They weren't disturbed by anyone during their silent walk, which gave them both enough time to swim in their own thoughts.

Naruto knew that they were on their way to meet Sasuke's mother, but about his mother? He didn't give it much thought till Kiba made it obvious. He was too occupied with Hinata and the flow of things, he didn't give the idea of having a mother a second thought. Everyone had a mother and a father, he remembered Kiba saying. Just the mention of his father had him thinking of things just as well

He remembered his father well. Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage of their village, and since he was the Hokage, he must have known of their counterpart village. He had to be the one in charge of both thought. He didn't question or doubt that, now that he thought about it. He remembered his father being an "in control" person, putting his ideas to practice and following through with each plan he conjured. Thought he was just a child as the time, he understood the process. He remembered every aspect of him till his death when he was six. The final scene to the Uchiha rebellion.

His mind had wandered to speculations of Sasuke's thoughts and feelings, about this whole ordeal. Losing his entire family in the rebellion had taken it's toll on Sasuke, especially since he was barely years old at the time. He remembered Sasuke telling him that he wasn't very close to his father, but his brother, that was a different. As Naruto recalled, the Uchiha brothers were unable to be separated, but when he was killed, Sasuke almost lost it till Naruto was able to fill the empty spot, being in the same boat. They were both looked upon as victims of the cause and nothing more.

Sasuke most likely had jumped at the thought of having any other blood relatives, Naruto thought. Family was definitely important to him, but Naruto, his friends were his family and that was fine with him. But now, with a possibility that _he _might have a mother, he didn't know what to think. He had a feeling he was going to learn everything he wanted and needed to know here.

"I suppose now or never," Sasuke finally said, breaking out of his trance and headed to the door. Naruto watched expectantly for Sasuke to knock on the door, but just as he knuckles touched the door, it swung open and a petite, woman stood at the doorway. Naruto gasped at the resemblance. The woman looked exactly like Sasuke, but to be correct, Sasuke looked like her. A second of a moment passed, neither of them said anything, and Naruto didn't feel it was his place to interrupt the silence.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, her voice cracking. "I just couldn't wait any longer." her eyes were quickly tearing up as she stared at Sasuke and only Sasuke. It seemed that she saw nothing else in the world but him. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's stomach and rested her chin on his shoulder. Sasuke froze in place, shocked at the sudden contact. Reluctantly, not knowing what else to do, he hugged back. He felt her squeeze his frame tightly before releasing him from her hold.

"Are you...my mother?" Sasuke asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice. The woman nodded, wiping the tears from her redden eyes.

"I'm sorry again. I just-," she began, her words caught in her soft hiccups. She slowly took a before calming herself down.

"No it's alright," Sasuke tried to comfort. "You know about me?"

"My name is Mikoto and I am your mother," she said, becoming giddy. She then reached out and grabbed Sasuke's hand. "And you are definitely my son, Sasuke." Sasuke stared uncomfortably at their cupped hands. Mikoto didn't noticed at all. Her eyes then turned towards Naruto, studying him curiously, a smile spreading across her face. "And that must mean you're are Naruto."

"Yeah, that's me," Naruto said, pointing to himself, glad to get a little bit of attention. "Naruto Uzumaki, at your service."

"I believe you," Mikoto said, smiling wider with a happy giggle. Sasuke, on the other hand, would have rolled his eyes if he could. "Quick, come inside. There are many things I was told to tell you." Mikoto pulled Sasuke inside behind her, motioning for Naruto to follow. The house itself was dark, with only an open door to the backyard letting in the orange glow of the evening sun. Mikoto pulled Sasuke along to her living room, sitting him at the edge of the couch as they entered the living room. She wasn't shy when she pulled Naruto on the couch as well, placing herself in between the two boys. She shuffled with the things on the small table placed in front of the couch. An old photo album and two newly printed envelope stack upon each other. The top envelope had the name 'Mikoto' written in the middle.

She grabbed the envelope and opened it, slipping out a few photographs that looked newly made.

"I was given these pictures and my memory suddenly came back to me. It was like remember an old dream."

The first photo was a picture of a young woman and a small baby in her arms, looking more like a doll than an actual human.

"Is that Sasuke?" Naruto instantly recognized the small infant in the photo, as a very smaller version of his friend. "That is, isn't it? But that can't be right. Why was he so small? They don't come that small."

"But they do," Mikoto said happily, showing off the picture. "This was taken five hours after I had Sasuke. Isn't he just adorable."

"He's very adorable," Naruto said, trying not to look at Sasuke as they laughed.

"You said you _had _me," Sasuke started, dragging the topic away from his picture. "What does that mean?"

"Yeah, Kiba mentioned something like that."

"It means what it says," Mikoto said, moving again to pull out a few small books from under the album. She tossed one of them back on the table as she opened another one. Sasuke and Naruto looked over her shoulder as she opened the book. The first thing Naruto registered on the page was the outline of a naked woman with a strange picture on top her lower regions. He drew his attention away from the page, towards it's back cover. He choked on his own breath, immediately recognizing the pink cover.

He gave a sudden yelp, grabbing the booklet out of Mikoto's hand and threw it across the room without a second though. It landed with a _plop_ against the opposite wall before sliding to the ground.

"Oh dear," Mikoto said, shocked at the sudden action. She quickly got up to find the booklet. As soon as she was off the couch, Sasuke took a hard swing at Naruto's face, knocking him half way off the couch's arm rest.

"Idiot, what do you think you're doing?" Sasuke yelled angrily. "We haven't been here ten minutes and you're going to break something in my mother's house."

"That thing gave me nightmares," Naruto yelled, quickly recovering from Sasuke's blow and ignoring his words completely.

"Ah, so you read this before," Mikoto said, laughing as she picked up the book from the ground. "I found it quite interesting. It mustn't been your cup of tea." She placed it on the shelf hanging on the wall, hiding it behind a vase of flowers. "You don't need to see the pictures now, I suppose, but I do have to tell you about the process of child birth." She sat back down in her spot and gathered the photos again, pulling other one out and showing the next few photos to the boys.

"Wow, you were really fat," Naruto commented bluntly.

"Naruto!" Sasuke gritted angrily. Mikoto laughed again ignoring the bickering of the boys, as if it were an inside joke.

"But it's true Sasuke," Mikoto continued, showing another picture of herself, sitting to what appears to be a hospital with a stomach that looks like she hid a large watermelon under her gown. "That's you, Sasuke." She pointed to the spot on her bulged stomach.

"No, that's your stomach," Naruto corrected obviously.

"Sasuke's is inside of my stomach." Mikoto giggled as both Naruto and Sasuke chocked on their gasps. She laughed harder once they both had gathered their composure but were still unable to render a word. "Well, not my stomach to be exact. Just a special place inside me. Since you don't want to see the pictures, I'll try to explain to the best of my ability."

"Yes, please do," Sasuke said unnervingly.

"Well..."

Half an hour later, Naruto was curled up in a ball, knees up against his chest, snuggled to the back of the corner of the couch. He laid with his head resting on the back of the couch, looking green and sick to his stomach.

"Naruto, I don't understand why you're acting that way," Sasuke said, his earlier emotions disappeared from his features. Now, he seemed very intrigued and enlightened, despite his previous actions. "If you think about it, it all makes sense."

"I know right," Mikoto agreed excitedly, cuddling closer to Sasuke. She had one arm link with his and quickly grew a habit of resting her head on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke seemed, in all, unfazed by the actions and hadn't protested in anyway.

"It doesn't make sense at all," Naruto mumbled to himself, turning his head away from the two sitting next to him. The past, dreadful minutes of excruciating details were too much for Naruto to handle and now just wanted to rip his ears off. Never in his live did he remember feeling so... horrified.

"You wanted to know, didn't you?" Sasuke reasoned casually. "Isn't that the reason we came here."

"I came for Hinata," Naruto mumbled louder.

"I understand, Naruto," Mikoto said. She unwrapped herself from Sasuke and pried Naruto's arm off his knee and entwined it with hers. But instead of suffocating him like she was with Sasuke, she held it gently, like something delicate. Naruto dropped his knees back to the floor, curious at the sudden touch, becoming barely calm but still ridged. He did answer, waiting for what she had to say. "You were thinking of a future with Hinata, right."

"You know," Naruto squeaked, his face turning dark red.

"I was told everything. I also know who Hinata is-I've worked with her," Mikoto explained. "She is a lovely candidate. You two will make a great couple."

"How would you know something like that?" Naruto asked, staring suspiciously.

"Well-oh my, I totally forgot. I'm sorry." She reached for the second envelope that was sitting patiently on the table. Naruto didn't have enough time to read the scribble on the envelope before Mikoto threw it back on the table, pulling the photographs out. She immediately placed it in Naruto's hand and he finally knew what he was looking at. A red-haired woman was in the center of the picture, flashing a peace sign while holding her bulging stomach, a very familiar grin on her face.

"Is that- Is that my mother?" Naruto said, stunned. He kept glancing up at Mikoto and back down at the photo, almost giddy. Mikoto nodded excitedly. Her eyes became watery as she covered her face with her hands. "What was her name?"

"Kushina. You act just like her," Mikoto said, trying to wipe her eyes dry. "It's like-" She quickly shook her head and wrapped her arm around Naruto's arm, resting her head on her shoulder just how she did with Sasuke a few moments ago. She seemed to try her hardest not to cry. She laughed nervously again. The atmosphere in the room dropped slightly, despite Mikoto's attempt to keep the mood up.

"What happened to-" Naruto said, feeling his throat dry before he could finish.

"It was unexpected what happened to Kushina," She said. She rose her head and loosen her hold. Her smile slowly faded into a thin line. "I can barely remember the time when and how it happened since it was so long ago. I wonder if this is the first time you would hear this, but did you know that you were kidnapped when you were just a week old?"

"Yeah, I remember being told that by my father," Naruto answered. "It was because I had an abnormal amount of chakra when I was born that the kidnappers wanted to harness."

"You must have inherited that from your mother. A very well known trait that was famous through these lands," Mikoto said. " From what I was told at first, just as Kushina was on her way back to the village with her new born _daughter_, she was attacked by rouges. She did all that she could do to protect her child, but in the end, both her life and the infant's were cut short." She was at the verge of crying again, but instead took a deep, calming breath before continuing. "But earlier this afternoon, I got a message about you two and along with everything that I had already told you, that incident arose. She died protecting you." Tears escaped from her eyes as her face grew red all over again. "and now, meeting you, I feel better that she didn't die for nothing." She hugged Naruto shakily, as she rested her head on his shoulder again.

Naruto repeated Mikoto's words she had told him again and again in his head as he laid on a make shift futon. The night light through the window allowed him to stare melancholy at the picture of his mother. With the frame that Mikoto had given him to use, he set it up right next to his head.

After Mikoto had calmed down, the lateness of the hour had caused them to put their conversation on hold. She then showed him the guest room, giving him all the essentials for the night before leaving him alone. Mikoto had asked Sasuke to still keep her company and, without hesitation, agreed. Naruto didn't mind, knowing very well that it was defiantly a family thing, and he had nothing against that. Now that he had thought about it, he wished he could experience what Sasuke was going through.

He gazed up, outside the window at the stars, trying to distract all the new questions forming in his head. He figured he would have to wait till another day to get the answers, but for the time being, he forced himself to fall asleep, allowing himself to imagine what it would be like to meet his mother.

The stars of the night were disappearing as the sun was barely peeking over the horizon on the morning after. At the gates of Konoha, Hinata leisurely walked through the entrance of her home, nearly completely worn out from travelling the entire night. With a simple wave towards the gate keeper, she headed straight home and collapsed on her futon once she was in the comfort of her room. In the mid of her exhaustion, she knew the next morning she would have to write and turning in her report before noon that day, but for right now, she would try to catch as many hours of sleep as she could.

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**I know... The next chapter will come as soon as I can get to it. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Another Chapter up! Hopefully with the summer coming up, I'll have more time to finish this. Enjoy. **

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Hinata had slept only till noon till she forced herself out of bed, despite her body telling her to get some more sleep. Right after a quick lunch with her younger sister, she strolled straight to the library and started on the report that she needed to turn in at the end of the day. She didn't waste any time finding a quiet spot to write. She slapped herself awake one last time before scribbling away on her report. She didn't even get to finish the first sentence when a light scent of flowers surrounded her. The next moment a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and a thin chin rested on her shoulders.

"Welcome back, Hinata." A whisper in her ear.

"It's nice to see you again, Ino," Hinata replied, patting her arm while yawning out her name.

"Heard from a relative that you got in the village at the crack of dawn," Ino said as she sat down, pulling up a chair next to Hinata. "What are you doing here? I would sleep all day."

"I'm finishing a report." Hinata motioned to the blank form on the table. "It's very important that I finished today." Hinata raised her pencil to the paper, ready to start, only to have the paper slid away from her.

"Here, let me write it for you," Ino offered. "Just tell me what I need to write." Hinata raised her hand in protest but, instead, had her pencil taken out of her hand. Hinata then sighed tiredly, allowing the proposal, already knowing Ino wouldn't let her ignore her generosity. On the bright side, she could take it easy now that she only had to tell about her mission. In roughly ten minutes, Hinata finished explaining the basics and the significant experiences that had happened.

"That should be everything," Hinata ended, watching till Ino finished the last sentence. "Thank you. Now, I can turn this in-" She reached for the report form, only to have it slip away again.

"Now that's through," Ino said, pushing the report down the table, farther from Hinata's reach. "I have some important questions to ask you." Ino scooted closer to Hinata, leaning against the table with a serious expression, waiting for some reaction. Hinata knew that generosity was going to come at a cost. She sighed again, nodding while motioning Ino to continue. "How would you rate my appearance?"

"What?"

"Just answer the question? How would you rate my overall appearance from one to ten? Including my presence," Ino said, sitting up straighter.

"I think you look very beautiful, Ino," Hinata answered honestly.

"No, give me a number," Ino said, waving her previous words away.

"Uh, seven?" Hinata said without thought.

"Seven!" Ino limped devastated, knocking her head on the table loudly, causing Hinata to almost jump out of her chair. "I knew it. I compete."

"I'm sorry, Ino," Hinata said, puzzled. "But I don't understand. What happened that questioned your appearance?"

"You see," Ino began explaining, snapping back into her normal self almost instantly. "It all began when I was working in the shop and Tenten walks in with this strange girl, forgot her name, who need to use the wash room. Poor thing was covered in mud, probably fell or something. Anyway, while me and Tenten were talking, Sakura comes walking in the shop looking for Tenten to tell her she has a mission waiting for her and she bring another girl- Her name is _Sasuke_-kind of a strange name now that I think about it-And she is drop dead gorgeous, I mean, porcelain doll face and everything. Apparently, that girl and the girl Tenten came in with knew each other. So we decided to ask them out on a luncheon. You know, to find this girl's beauty secrets. And you know what she says, she says she's all natural. Can you believe that?" Before Hinata could say anything, Ino was already off again.

"I mean, no one looks that pretty and not use any products in some way. I would be fine is she said it was a secret formula or something, but no. She's all natural. The last person I heard saying that was Miss Mikoto."

"Ino, you really shouldn't be comparing yourself to others," Hinata noted. "You're pretty in your own way."

"Thanks, I know," She said. " It's just that I can't help but feel a bit jealous, but no need to worry. I know I can at least smell better than her. Did you notice my new perfume?" She waft it towards Hinata.

"I noticed."

"I noticed too." Both Ino and Hinata jumped at the new voice, a strange low toned voice. Almost sounding if the user had a terrible cold. They both turned towards the third voice, both stunned to see a tall, broad _woman_ strolling casually towards them. Next to her was a large, unfamiliar dog trotted along in front of her, coming to a stop only to sit next to Hinata's legs. It was obvious that she was part of the Inuzuka clan, having the facial markings and the canine companion, but even barely knowing each of them by name, she didn't know who this person was.

"Sorry, heightened senses," _she_ said, tapping the tip of _her _nose. "That came off a little weird, didn't it."

"Oh, no," Hinata said quickly, being as polite as possible. "We under-"

"And a little creepy," Ino said bluntly, staring at the _girl_ suspiciously. Her eyes shifted up and down the stranger as she leaned back tall in her chair.

"Ino!" Hinata said shocked. She couldn't believe how Ino was acting. It wasn't two seconds that they had met this stranger.

"I've never seen you in the village before," Ino continued, ignoring Hinata's cry. "Who are you? Do you even live here?" The _girl_ smirked, pulling out an empty chair and swinging it around to straddle opposite of the two girls, as to make a triangle between the trio. _She _didn't seemed to be fazed by the attitude that Ino was giving _her_.

"The name's Kiba Inuzuka and technically, I didn't live here," _she_ said. "But now, I do. I just transferred her from the other Konohagure, in short terms."

"Other Konohagure?" Hinata and Ino replied simultaneously. Hinata more curious than Ino, and Ino more skeptical than Hinata.

"Apparently, you two haven't gotten the news yet."

"News? What news?" Ino inquired angrily.

"It's a very long explanation," Kiba said, resting his chin on the top rail of the chair. "And to be honest, I'm tired of explaining it all day. Can you just believe me when I say there's another Konohagure? Besides, you'll probably hear it again anyway." Hinata and Ino glanced at each other silently.

"Alright, so what brings you to our presents?" Ino asked.

"For one thing, I was ordered to introduce myself to as many people as possible. Expose the women to my presents, and before you could fathom a way to ask me why I look and sound so different without sounding rude, it's because I'm a male."

"Male?" Hinata question confusedly.

"Is that anything like being female?" Ino asked impudently. Kiba faked a laughed.

"It's actually the complete opposite," Kiba answered, seeming not to mind Ino's tone in response.

"Opposite? How so," Hinata asked.

"It means that I have an out-ie and you guys have an in-ie." Kiba began to chuckle but slowly went dry as Ino and Hinata just glanced at each other puzzled. "Uh, Never mind. You'll probably get those pamphlets soon. They're giving them out like candy. Those will explain everything."

"Guys?" Ino repeated, almost offensively. "What does that mean? Is that an insult?"

"Oh, sorry about the choice of words. It just the lingo for our gender. It's like how you say _Girls_, we say _Guys_. Same thing when you say _Her_, it's _Him_ for guys. And please when talking about me behind my back, in pronoun terms, call me a _He_. I am not a _She_."

"What?" Ino nearly yelled , making Hinata glad that no one else was in the library right now. (The reason she came at this time in the first place.) "He, she, him, her. You're not making any sense. I don't know who you are woman-"

"That's another thing," Kiba interrupted, snapping his fingers. "I'm not called a woman, I'm a man. As go for small children, they're called boys oppose to girls. I think that's how it goes."

"Whatever you are," Ino continued angry. "I don't understand or like anything that you are saying, so how about you ramble your man nonsense somewhere else. Maybe someone else will believe your lies." Kiba laughed.

"You better believe my _lies_ because there's going to be more of my kind roaming around from now on, so you better get used to the idea whether you like it or not, Ino." Ino turned red with anger as Kiba slurred her name mockingly, grinning as he did so. "Like I said, you'll probably hear this again anyways so think of this little chat as a heads up, alright." He sluggishly lifted himself off the chair, kicking it back under the table. "Come on, Akamaru." The white dog jumped back on his paws eagerly at the sound of Kiba's voice. Before he left, he turned to Hinata. "I got your friends name, but I never caught yours."

"Uh, Hinata," Hinata replied politely.

"Hinata!" Kiba said, almost tripping on his own feet. He had to quickly catch the side of the table before he fell. "As in Hinata Hyuga."

"That's right."

"What's it to ya?" Ino intervened protectively. Kiba leaned on the table, crossing his arms as he seemed to go deep into thought.

"Actually, never mind. It'd be better if he said it," Kiba finally said, waving it off as if the thought. "It's nice to meet you two. Bye." Kiba then turned and walked away, Akamaru following close behind, leaving the Ino and Hinata alone again. After a moment of silence, a moment of astonishment mixed with confusion, after they made sure that Kiba did actually leave and wasn't lingering near, Hinata said,

"I think it would be best if we find out what's going on first before we believe anything."

"Agreed," Ino replied.

Hinata seemed to notice that everyone seemed in the village seemed to be willed up about something, and she had an idea of what exactly since talking with Kiba. She and Ino went straight to the Hokage manor and straight towards the Report room. Ino had seem to wanted stop by some of the women talking flamboyantly, but Hinata greatly insisted that she turned in her report on time before the department closed that day. They made it at the last minute; just in time.

Hinata thanked the woman at the table and was about to leave with Ino again. Just as they left the room, they both collided with someone about to turn in.

"Excuse us!" Ino exclaimed, more surprised by the collision than anything else.

"My bad," Shizune apologized, entering the room. "Oh, just the people I wanted to see." She glowed a smile at both of the girls.

"What is it, Shizune?" Hinata asked. Shizune shuffled in the pile of papers she held (surprised that they were unharmed in the collision) and pulled out a folder and handed it to Ino.

"What's this?" Ino asked, immediately opening up the folder and reading the pages inside.

"It's a-" Shizune began till Ino yelled,

"Transfer! Why? Where?" She stared up in disbelief at Shizune.

"Across the sea to the other village of course. Where else?" She explained happily. "Don't you know about the reuniting progress?" She looked to Hinata and Ino for some reaction, hopefully a positive one. Neither of the girls did anything, staring in dull confusion. "Has no one told you?" Hinata and Ino silently glanced at each other before, giving Shizune the same expression. Shizune huffed, annoyed. "Come, follow me."

Hinata and Ino followed Shizune through the hall, walking briskly as she continued "I wish I could personally tell you the specifics but everything's a little havoc right now." She guided them into another room down the hall, usually for personnel only. Inside there were numerous of stacked boxes, one upon each other. Shizune quickly shuffled through a couple of the boxes, pulling out two small pamphlets. One pink and one blue. She gave each of these pamphlets to both Hinata and Ino.

"What are these?" Ino asked, trying to look at the pamphlets, shoving the folder she was given under her arm. Hinata was also very curious, already opening the pink pamphlet and simply flipping the pages, finding some familiar pictures that she's seen before in health class. If this what was in the pink one, and the conversation with Chiba earlier that day still in her mind, she could guess what was in the blue pamphlet.

"They will answer all, or at least most, of the questions you have," Shizune said satisfied, another problem off her shoulder. "As for your transferred, Tsunade just decided to move the shinobi that do not have immediate family."

"Shizune, I don't under-" Ino began, then suddenly stopped, the familiar expression of an epiphany over come on her face. It was now obvious to Hinata that she was connecting the pieces from what Kiba had told them earlier. Shizune suddenly squealed, snapping Ino back to the current conversation.

"I'm so jealous of you, Ino," She suddenly said.

"Jealous? Why?"

"Because you'll be getting all the attention from all the boys," Shizune giggled giddily. "I defiantly wouldn't mind that." She then turned to Hinata, eyeing her suspiciously before a small smile, that she tried to suppress, spread across her face.

"Is something the matter, Shizune?" Hinata asked, almost worriedly (for her own safety). Shizune shook her head, giving a whisper of a chuckle.

"It's nothing." She then snapped her fingers, as if suddenly remembering something. "Hey Hinata, have you seen Sakura today?"

"You should probably go find her. I think she's getting acquainted with her new team and showing them around town since they're new. Oh, would you look at the time! I got to get back to work. I'll see you girls later." Shizune didn't give them enough time to respond as she rushed back out of the room, leaving the two girls alone; both once again confused like they were before.

As soon as Hinata and Ino left the Hokage manor, they went their separate way, quickly figuring that they would learn more if they went on their own. Ino headed off back home to her aunt's flower shop while Hinata decided to find Sakura, just as Shizune said. She could have done it the fast way and use her byakugan and scale the rooftops, but she did have some reading material that she needed to read. So instead of just simply finding Sakura, she decided to take the casual route of strolling around town to find her while reading the pamphlets. Besides, wasn't Sakura preoccupied anyways with showing off the village.

She figured that the pink pamphlet was the same as she read in schools, so she opened the blue booklet instead. In less than five minutes, she had learned the basic history of the existence of the two villages, and the separation of the two genders just in the first couple of pages. After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, she didn't mind being kept in the dark. It was for a good cause and the villages were going to be reunited again. The next couple of pages then explained the basics of the gender of the _male_. (Which she found very confusing but did explain what Kiba had told her earlier before.)

As she walked towards the neighborhood near the outskirts of the town, she turned to a page that made her stop dead in her tracks. She shouldn't be surprised since this was like a health book, but she couldn't help but blush at the picture of the basic male anatomy. She was looking at a naked man! And she couldn't pry her curious eyes away! She suddenly looked up and away, become very aware what she was reading in public. She looked around to see a group of middle aged women glanced her way and towards the small booklet she was reading. She quickly shut the booklet and trying to put it away from wandering eyes. Before she could actually put it away, an elderly woman appeared on her other side and laughing as she asked,

"You been looking at that What got you blushing like a red rose? Hmm?" The elderly woman smiled curiously at her. She eyed the blue booklet in her hand. Hinata quickly moved it behind her back.

"Oh, n-no-nothing," Hinata stuttered terribly, turning even redder and feeling the heat surround her. "I-uh." The old woman laughed.

"You're so red, it's cute," the elder woman continued. "You look like you just got caught in public half naked." The woman laughed harder teasing Hinata.

_Naked._ That single word repeated over and over again in her head. Her skin burned of embarrassment that she was sure she was going to give herself first degree burn. She didn't even want to know how red she is now as that image was embedded in her head.

"I-I-I forgot something," Hinata suddenly sputtered, taking off in a run, stuffing the small blue pamphlet away before anyone could ask what it was. As soon as she knew she was safe from the public eye, she stopped, letting herself catch her breath. She decided to read the pamphlets later, in a more private area.

After she calm down a little, she realized where her path had taken her, now noticing the quietness of her surroundings. She had wandered near the graveyard. More specifically, the memorial sight, where stone plaques lined the vast field. A remembrance of loss loved once. She gazed through the gates, somewhat finding comfort in the peaceful place. Just as she was about to turn away, she caught the familiar color of pink flash at the corner of her eye.

She saw at the corner of the field just the person she was looking for. Sakura, along with two others (which Hinata assumed to be her new teammates), looking down in front of a memorial stone near the corner of the field. Hinata could barely make out their features, their back turned towards her vision. She had a bouquet of flowers in her arms as she stood next to a really tall woman with dark short hair and broad shoulders. Kneeling in front of them was another broad woman with short blond hair. Sakura handed the blond the bouquet. The blond woman then place them on the slab stone, before standing up and dusting herself off.

Hinata felt that this wasn't a proper time to interrupt. She could always talk to Sakura later anyway. Before she could get away, and as if they knew she was there the entire time. The group turned to look her way; directly at her.

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**Even though I don't mention it often, I do appreciate all the reviews that I get. So thank you for all who takes the time to give me feedback. Till next time...ciao. **


	9. Chapter 9

**It's been a long time. I know. Shouldn't have been. My time is limited now in days. Finished this on my phone in segments. Finally done. Already starting on the next. Enjoy.**

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Naruto took on breath inside the stale apartment and hand to run back out for fresh air. Only the landlord knew how long the dust inside collected. It wasn't helpful at all the owner was an old woman who was forgetting the days as they passed. Mikoto, on the other hand, simply walked in and quickly opened the windows.

"This is your apartment whenever you are staying here, so you can come and go as you please," Mikoto called from the other room, opening the final window. Naruto creep back into the entrance way, finding it more bearable to breath. The layout of the apartment had an uncanny similarity to his apartment in the other village, from the kitchen to the dining area. He had no doubt the bedroom looked the same as well. If he didn't know better, he could say that he was back in his own home.

Mikoto appeared again as she walked out from the bedroom, a gleeful tempo in she step.

"How are you liking it so far?" She suddenly asked, re-checking the rooms again. "It may be a little small and may need some cleaning, but it's your personal home away from home." She sighed nostalgically. "I remember the times Kushina and I had in here." A pang struck Naruto inside his chest once again. Though he should be past not knowing his mother thing, but he could shake the guilt away. Especially when Mikoto wanted to mention her every other minute when looking at something that reminded it of her.

"Thank you for bringing me here. This place is perfect," Naruto said, pulling out the key he received earlier yesterday and put it on a hook on the wall. He finally knew what it was used for. It made him wonder if Tsunade had expected these past events.

"I guess I leave you to your thoughts," Mikoto said generously, making her way towards the entrance. "You're welcome to drop by _our_ home any time you're feeling lonely." Naruto knew that she was referring to Sasuke and herself. "And remember what I told you before."

"Don't worry, Mikoto, I promise I won't be late." Naruto waved one last time as Mikoto rushed out the front, closing the front door behind her. The moment he was alone, he collapsed on the side of the dining table, leaning carefully as he ran a hand through his hair. The smile that he had force on his face faded quickly. He let his head fall down till his chin was almost touching his chest. He wished he was happier to the fact that he had his own apartment on this side. It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate it; it was a wonderful offer.

He couldn't quite put it, but now, he kind of wished that there would have been a mother waiting for him, like Sasuke had Mikoto. He didn't really want to admit it to himself, but he was somewhat jealous of Sasuke. That he had figured it out from the beginning and that he had a mother to find, all while he had only been thinking about Hinata.

The moment that though ran through his mind, he had raised his hand and slapped himself across the face.

"Of course I've been thinking about Hinata," He said angrily to himself. "That's why I came here. To see her again. That doesn't make her any less important." Then what about the person who gave life to him. Wasn't she important too?

He suddenly jumped as his thoughts were interrupted by a quite loud knocking on the door. He barely moved off the table as it swung open by itself.

"Wow, nice apartment," Kiba said as he strolled in, taking his shoes off as he entered. "Pardon the intrusion." Akamaru was following his footsteps, sneezing as he sniffed the floor of the front entrance. Kiba was also affected by the dust floating in the air as he waved in front of his face. "Man, is it dusty in here or what?"

"Kiba, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, confused and pleasantly surprised. Naruto grabbed one of his dining chairs and turned it around as to straddle it, leaning his crossed arms on the back side. Kiba made himself comfortable on the only other chair, letting his ankle rest on his knee as he sat. Akamaru found comfort on the kitchen floor. "And how did you know I was here?"

"I met Sasuke's mom as she was leaving. Actually, I didn't know it was Sasuke's mom until she came up to me and introduced herself. She was the one who told me that you were up here."

"That explains that. Now, what brings you to this part of town?" Kiba sighed bothered.

"Well, today, I have to go around town an introduce myself to a bunch of people."

"That sounds like fun," Naruto said genuinely envious. It would have been nice to meet new people and get his mind off other things. "Why do you have to do that?"

"Eh, I got a message from the Hokage that I have to expose _our_ kind to the village." Kiba gave Naruto a strange, annoyed expression. It seemed like Kiba wasn't as pleased for the task as Naruto would have been.

"You don't seem that excited." Kiba gave that odd expression again.

"Of course it's nice, but here, when I explain about the situation, they either give me a confused, uneasy smile or a skeptical scowl. Either way, it's awkward and tiring and it's only the morning too. I can't believe I have to do this all day." Kiba's visage then changed from annoyed to a more concerned look. "That reminds me, Sasuke's mom wanted me to ask you if you were feeling okay."

"Why would she ask that?" Naruto perked up in panic, grinning innocently, or as innocently as he could get.

"She said that you were looking a bit down, and now that it's mentioned, you don't seem quite yourself. Is everything okay?" Naruto smiled, as if he had been caught in an devious act.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just a little nervous. Sasuke and I are going to be paired up with some girl as experimental team to see how we get along. Though I don't know what she's so worried about. Sasuke and I work well together. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be any different than just adding another person, even if it's a girl."

"Is that all?" Kiba scoffed, seeming not to be bothered by his 'predicament.' "That sound more fun than what I have to do. Hey, you might even get that Hinata girl as your partner. Wasn't she suppose to come into town last night." Naruto twitched in interest. He hadn't thought about that at all. He'd even forgotten Hinata's arrival. The idea quickly grew on him. Maybe that woman, Tsunade, was planning all of this. "Or it could be someone else," Kiba continued blissfully. "You never know." Naruto scowled annoyingly.

"Thanks for ruining the dream, Kiba."

"Just being realistic. Hey, if I meet someone named Hinata Hyuga, I'll tell her you're looking for —"

"Don't tell her anything," Naruto quickly said. "I want to introduce myself to her." He probably wasn't the best person to go to for memory retrieval advice, but he decided that he wanted to surprise Hinata. He still had the necklace in his safe keep. He hoped that either his presence or the object would help trigger her memory. "If you meet her, just do what your suppose to do. Don't even mention me." Kiba gave him a strange, confused look before sighing and shrugging his shoulders. Naruto knew Kiba wasn't particularly part of the dilemma and wouldn't try to be part of it. For what it seemed, he seemed to have much more on his hands to say otherwise.

"Wow, you're actually really old. You could be a grandma with your age."

Sasuke easily stepped to the side as Naruto fell backwards, a flying scroll whizzed through the air and hit him hard on the forehead. Even though his head band deflected the projectile, the force of the object actually made him loose his balance and fall backwards, tripping on his feet.

"I'll remind you that I'm the Hokage and should be treated with respect," Tsunade said, giving Sasuke a polite smile as he returned the scroll that was once across the room. "I'm nothing like that Jiraiya that you can push around." She sat back in her chair, pleased with herself as Naruto slowly regain posture.

"Heh, my bad," Naruto apologized, laughing kind-heartedly. Speaking his mind was Naruto's best quality, most could agree. Then again, it did lead him to moments like these. "So when are we going to meet our third partner?" Naruto had pepped himself up for this meeting and now was excited. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed to act unfazed about everything.

"I wanted her to read up on some things before she met you two. I wanted everyone have the same knowledge of the situation. Those booklets aren't that long so she should be here any minute."

"Booklets." Naruto repeated dully, almost revolted. He was glad that he knew everything he needed to know so he wouldn't have to read _those_ books ever again.

Convenience had to be with Naruto today as a knock on the door interrupted their talk. As the door opened, a familiar pink-haired girl walked in, coming in backwards having her nose in a blue booklet.

"Lady Tsunade, I don't fully understand what I'm reading," Sakura said, not bothering to look up as she closed the door behind her. The moment she did tear here eyes away, she was looking up at her mentor, but the next moment, here attention flickered towards the two boys in the room. They stood on both sides of the room so she had to move her head as if she were watching a game of catch.

"Sakura, these are your new—," Tsunade wanted to start, but Naruto didn't hesitate to blurt out the knowledge of the pink haired girl.

"Hey, remember us, we met before," Naruto interrupted happily, walking up to her. He swiftly picked the booklet out of her hand and threw it behind him. Surprisingly, it landed perfectly in the wastebasket beside Tsunade's desk. "You took us out to lunch yesterday." Sakura was completely stunned by Naruto, mostly by his appearance and the fact that his face was barely a foot in front of her own.

"I...who...did?" Sakura stammered, backing away. She stared at Naruto for a couple of seconds, then her eyes widen in realization and a blush began covering her cheeks. "Your name is Naruto; and yours is Sasuke. Those were the names of the girls that I met yesterday. Was that the two of you?" Her blush turned a darker red when Naruto nodded. "So that means...and you were..."

"Yeah, well, we weren't really _suppose_ to be in the village and we didn't want to show our true selves so we wouldn't scare the locals," Naruto rambled on, continuing on to explain the situation concerning the separation of the two sexes. As Sakura listened, her initial shock slowly faded away from her visage as she became accustomed to what Naruto was saying.

"Lady Tsunade, is this all true?" Sakura asked, sliding her eyes to her mentor.

"More or less," Tsunade said, relived that she didn't have to explain everything for the umpteenth time that day. She was busy digging through her waste basket, pulling out the blue booklet and placing it on her desk after dusting it off. "Now that's out of the way, let's get to the main point. Sakura, you will be working with these two boys from here on out. There will be another joining your team but I will announce him to you later. For today, I just want you to spend some time together to get to know each other. That's what I want you to do today, then tomorrow, I'm sending you on a mission as a test run group. It'll be simple and short, just to see how well you work together. The report after will be a good reassurance to my advisors about this whole ordeal so don't mess it up."

"I still can't believe this is all real. I mean...wow," Sakura babbled on, her eyes not knowing what to look at when addressing Naruto and Sasuke. Especially Sasuke. Now that she had to learn a new anatomy, she had become interested in the two forms of males she was talking too; making it very hard to keep a steady mind. (And Sasuke's somewhat revealing wardrobe wasn't helping either.) "It's really embarrassing to think that I actually met you yesterday." She covered her face as it turned a pink hue. "That wasn't the way I would have acted if I knew."

"It was better that way," Sasuke voiced. "You didn't treat us any differently than you would treat anyone else." Sasuke was inconveniently looking the other way when he spoke, unable to see Sakura's shocked expression; it was if she got hit by a rock.

"Don't think about it. If it makes you feel any better, we could start over. Forget about yesterday," Naruto quickly said, noticing Sakura's discomfort. Though Naruto knew it was somewhat rude to find Sakura's fluster entertaining, but he did. Didn't he go through the same when he first met Hinata?

"That would make me feel much better," Sakura said with relief, extremely grateful for his words. She eyed Sasuke expectant and hopeful. Whatever she was looking for, Sasuke didn't give it to her as he continued with finding other things around him much more interesting. She pushed herself into a happier mood, as she continued, "We have the whole day to get to know each other. Where would you like to go first? I could show you the shopping district, or our restaurants. There's this really this really nice..." She suddenly stopped, seeming to suddenly remember something. "Oh, before I take you there, can we stop by my house really quick," Sakura quickly said, stopping the boys short. "I forgot to tell my mother something. Do you mind?" There was that word again, triggering the guilt in Naruto's heart again. He tried to keep his true emotions hidden as they silently made their way towards Sakura's house, smiling and laughing as he always did.

As they were waiting, Naruto and Sasuke took spots on top of her building, away from the public eye. It was a silent agreement between them. (Neither weren't very comfortable yet.)

"Alright, what's the matter?" Sasuke suddenly said.

"What?" Naruto asked, completely caught off guard. Sasuke wasn't even looking in his direction. They weren't even talking about anything and it was only a few seconds after Sakura disappeared down the steps. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I've known you too long," Sasuke started. "I can see through any act that you pull, so you might as well quit the charades and spill." Naruto sighed, silently admitting defeat.

"It's nothing big," Naruto started, keeping his eyes downcast, noticing Sasuke was finally looking in his direction. "I'm just a little down."

"Does it have anything to do with your own mother." Naruto began to laugh, quickly ending with a dull sigh.

"I'm just a bit guilty that I wasn't concern about my own mother like you were."

"That wasn't your fault," Sasuke said, back to looking in another direction. "You didn't know and you're too dumb to figure out about all that stuff anyway." (Naruto ignored that comment, letting Sasuke continue without interruption.) "For now, just keep moving forward and keep believing in what you believe in. That's what your mother would want. At least that's how I interpret it. She did give her life for you."

Naruto smiled, unconsciously agreeing with him.

"You're right, Sasuke," Naruto nearly yelled, a new relief washing over him. "I can waste my life moping. I'm going to do what I came here to do and that's fine Hinata...But I kind of wish that I could at least do a little something for her."

A small cough for attention distracted the boys, both of them turning ay the sound of approaching footsteps. Sakura was back, standing anticipating just a couple of feet behind them.

"I could help eavesdropping, sorry," Sakura began whole heartedly. "Sorry about your mother as well. If you don't mind taking a side trip, there_ is _something we can do for her."

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**Filler. You can guess what's going to happen next.  
**


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